It\u2019s been three weeks since I started feeding Smokey, and the old girl has mostly eluded my intrusive care. I\u2019ve seen her only a handful of times, and when I do, it\u2019s cause for elation. She comes along the sidewalk, moving at her odd, hesitant gait in my direction, smelling the New Leaf cat tuna I\u2019m tempting her with, along with dry cat food, and cookies when I have them leftover. I wait until she\u2019s close and then call out to her softly. She pauses, lifting her perfectly pointed nose in the air, sniffing for danger, then finds her way to the food.<\/p>\n
I keep talking to her so that she becomes familiar with my voice. I marvel at how she makes her way around, probably seeing only light and shadow, and how she\u2019s been able to stay alive so long.<\/p>\n
In the last three weeks, I\u2019ve put out the word about Smokey, hoping that a sanctuary can be found so she can live with less fear and more convenience. There has been a connection made, with a kind animal rights activist who lives in the Sierra foothills. She said she would take Smokey if I could trap her. That means getting to know her comings and goings.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not moving very smoothly. I check the feeding area at least twice a day to see if Smokey has appeared, but as of yet I have no sense of her timetable. I suspect she really misses the two women who used to feed her, tho I have nothing to base that on.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m also on Kitten Watch in the parking lot where I\u2019ve been feeding for two years now. Mama Grace \u2013 the only cat who\u2019s too smart to be trapped so far \u2013 was chubby for a few weeks and then\u2026 thin. She is an old hat at giving birth, and acts as casual as if nothing has happened. This routine has gone on before, and then \u2013 surprise \u2013 a darling new face or three emerges from the garbage-filled ravine. A good mother, she leads her babies up to the food source. I\u2019ve been expecting some wee ones for a few weeks now, but so far nothing.<\/p>\n
Last year, I saw the triplets (Oberon, Ariel and Puck) for the first time on the same day as Matt Cain\u2019s perfect game \u2013 June 13 \u2013 so they seem \u201coverdue\u201d now on the 24th<\/sup>. It makes me wonder if Grace\u2019s latest babe(s) did not make it. Might a bobcat or coyote have found them unattended? Even though it\u2019s a challenge to place any feral cats \u2013 even kittens \u2013 the idea that they might not have survived a feral birth just crushes me. Barbara has advised me to talk to Grace when I see her, and tell her to bring me her kittens. I\u2019ve been doing this for the past few days; I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m getting through to her but I find it enormously amusing. And amusements are in short supply some of these cold mornings, with coastal drizzle turning my hair to frizzle.<\/p>\n Bring it, Saint Francis \u2013 help me find a better place for Miss Smokey, and show me those kittens!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s been three weeks since I started feeding Smokey, and the old girl has mostly eluded my intrusive care. I\u2019ve seen her only a handful of times, and when I do, it\u2019s cause for elation. She comes along the sidewalk, … Continue reading