Although many of the feral cats in our colony gradually became relatively tame and comfortable around us, Stranger earned her name by keeping at a distance. As I mentioned last week, she accepted our food and left her children in our care but she was too set in her feral ways to stay.
Stranger spent most of her time in the woods and the old stable behind the house. We would often see her resting at the edge of the clearing, sometimes alone and sometimes in the company of Snowball or other cats who frequented the same area.
She would not come up on our deck but would get as close to the house as the old garden area near our driveway. We had a vegetable garden there soon after moving in. Nearby live oaks eventually shaded much of garden. Rosemary, Mexican Oregano, and Salvia edged the old garden area, providing good cover for resting cats. Stranger gradually became comfortable eating and resting there, but she would always return to her home in the woods.
Did you ever sing this song to her? You might have enticed her up the deck if you had. Heaven knows that song has enticed more than a few females to come just a little closer!
We never tried serenading her but I’m afraid Stranger’s experience the one time we got up close and personal may have made her suspicious of our motivations. She ended up in a trap and got a visit to the vet for spaying and ear-tipping. Ol’ Blue Eyes would have needed to be singing to her in person to overcome that experience. I’m not sure even he would have got through her defenses.