Sunday, May 21, 2006

Whore

I haven't posted about the dumpster kitties for awhile. No, I haven't stopped feeding them. It's been almost a year and the population has become embarrassingly large. What started as a mama kitty and four kittens (one who unfortunately has since passed on) is now somewhere around a dozen cats. I think originally there were two litters out there: the "gray patterned ones" are the original dumpster kittens and the "black ones" were the hypthesized second litter. (The "gray patterned ones" consisted of gray ones, two of which had black stripes, one is kindof light gray-frosted looking and my favorite is white with gray hooding with black swirls on the hooding. A few weeks after I started feeding the gray ones, I started seeing (I think) three black kittens. I say "I think" because they all looked alike, but the most I ever saw at one time was three.)

A couple of strays latched on to the food shortly after that and a few months ago that same mama had another litter of I think 6 kittens. They are sooooo cute. Three of them are tuxedo kittens, one is all black and two are torties that look a lot like Nellie. I know it was that same mama because one of the tuxedos is not black and white, but brown and white and the brown is more like a tortoiseshell. That's exactly what the mama looks like. One of the "little Nellies" runs at me crying every time I go back there. NONE of them let me touch them which is probably best for everyone involved, including my own three cats at home.

Anyway, as my mom and close friends know, I have very mixed feelings about the dumpster kitties. You may laugh and think I'm just another crazy cat lady, but us crazy cat ladies have extremely complex emotions. I know I won't live here forever and I hate to let them depend on getting food from me. At the same time, I don't feed them nearly enough to sustain them, so they must do just fine on their own. Indeed, I often see them dragging bones and scraps from the dumpster and sometimes I even see them carrying around mice and lizards. Part of me gets so angry that no one else seems to care about them. Then sometimes I see little dishes of catfood left by other people and I start feeling a little possessive. Sometimes I think I really care about them and will miss them when I leave. Other times, like when I see ducklings slowly disappear from our pond I hate them for their natural predatory instincts. Mostly, I feel a little overwhelmed because I know that as long as they stay healthy, they will experience an exponential increase in population. And I will be partly responsible.

I'm fairly certain that the only one having babies though is that same mama that's already had at least two litters. I say "at least" because the original dumpster kittens look eerily like Wrigley, who was also a stray in our complex. Sometimes I wonder about that, too.

The other night I had to pick up a friend from work at about nine. As I was leaving I realized I hadn't fed them yet so I took a plastic bag full of food and drove by the dumpster on the way home. I fed the cats and then got back in the car and shined my headlights on them to watch them eat for a couple minutes. They weren't as skittish when I wasn't standing right there so I got a good look at a couple of them. Then, right in front of my car waddled the mama kitty, her bulbous stomach swaying back and forth. Damn! She's pregnant again!

A couple of them I have secretly given names to. Nothing serious, just verbalizing how I recognize them. My favorite, with the swirls I call Swirley and one of the tuxedos that has white on its face except for a black dot on its nose I call Smudge. The mother of most of them I used to call Mama. Now I just call her Whore.

12 comments:

brainhell said...

I offer you a greater challenge: Somehow trap the mature ones (and heck, the kittens too) and get 'em fixed. No more babies. Raise funds from others to cover the expense.

Runner Girl FL said...

Sorry people I know it was up to me to stop her before she became a monster (see relocation of MB in the comments of the duckling post) and now there is a pregnant Momma and ducklings at the same time. I have failed you all!!

Maybe a better term is the crazy kitty fiend rather than "cat lady"

I'll help with BH's challenge....I know we have chatted about it before.

Big Feet said...

At least you don't have 100 cats in your house like the people next door to our neighbors in NY do...

Scott said...

Maybe you should take the whore to the vet and do the dumster a favor, which can only sustain so much life. I used to feed a cat at a house I rented. It would eat my food but wouldn't let me get close, which ticked me off just a little bit. Smart cat. I was cool, but how about the next guy to rent that place?

Anonymous said...

Maybe she isn't a whore and just the unfortunate victum of rape. You know it is a rough place out there behind the dumpster. (I love you for feeding and caring about the kitties!)

Natalie said...

I have looked in to getting them fixed. There is a local organization that unites veterinary students and feeders of feral cats. It's free (a donation isw recommended) but you have to actually get the cats there which seems way overwhelming to me. I'll have to rethink it though. I've lived here for four years and never called on my friends to help me move. Maybe I'll cash in my points with this.

Sylvia-
This is probably the case and I as feminist I should know better than assume she's a floosy!

Anonymous said...

you didn't tell me that you had names for them, DANGER DANGER DANGER..... but your feeling for the dumpster kitties is a part of why i love you.

Runner Girl FL said...

Come on MOM she is yours....you can't help but love her. That is part of why the rest of us do, however. That and the fact that she is kinda cute.

Natalie said...

mom~
Um, you mean I didn't tell you that? I must've forgotten...

rgfl~
I get my love of animals and my unbelieveable good looks from my mom.

Runner Girl FL said...

And your Dad. :) (In case he's reading) hehehe

mr. schprock said...

The real danger sign will be when you see a mature male cat with a wide-brimmed hat, long leather coat and a silver-headed walking stick driving a Cadillac Eldorado hanging around the dumpster.

Natalie said...

OMG Mr. Schprock you crack me up!