More About My Kitty

Winter is fast approaching here in Wisconsin.  In my last post, I introduced you to Mitzy, my kitty cat.  (She's really an alley cat that keeps coming into my yard).

I just adore this cat and I don't know why. I was feeling awful at the thought of her trying to survive in winter.  So I borrowed a huge racoon cage from my friend, The Gardener.  I put inside of it a can of tuna hoping the smell would lure her in.

TEN MINUTES after I put the trap in my yard, I heard it snap shut.  So apparently Chicken of the Sea is the brand of choice for tuna, huh?

I'm glad my friend has a racoon trap.  I knew I couldnt' take her in right away in the morning and I didn't want hre to be overly traumatized so, with the 'coon trap she had plenty of room to move about.

Cute or not, I wasn't about to take her all the way into my home.  So she spent the night on my enclosed back porch.  Which was a good thing because the temperatures took a nose dive last night.

I took her to work with me the next day planning to drop her off at our domestic control center on the way home.  Not wanting her to freak out from strange noises or sights, I kept her covered with a lot of blankets.  She talked to me the whole way to work.  Her meow is so cute - "Noooooo!" she says over and over, in a woe-is-me kind of voice.

I checked on her during the workday and she was doing fine.  (A few summers ago I had a squirrel in the roof problem and trapped quite a few.  Some of them got so anxious to get free that they'd chew their own jaws off or rip their hands to shreds. I was really worried she'd hurt herself.  Thankfully, she just seemed confused about the cage more than anything). 

We got to the domestic control center - the same place I took my poochka when I had to put her down.  Our domestic control, by law, holds a stray for seven days in case an owner claims it.  After that, if the animal is healthy and of good temperament, they turn it over for adoption.  When I was there dropping of Mitzy, a mom and son were coming in to adopt a stray. 

That was my whole goal of trapping her - I just know she's an adoptable cat and I'm hoing she'll have a good home before winter.

Cue the Sarah McLaughlin music:

The worker took her in the trap to the back room and brought the cage back to me.  He said, "Thanks a lot for bringing him in."

What???

Yea.  Turns out my Mitzy is actually a Mitzter.

"My" Kitty Kat

For some time now I've had a cat.

Sort of.

This is Mitzi.

There's an alley cat in my neighborhood that I named Marly.  After Marlboro cigarettes since she's the color of an ashtray.  Marly likes to sleep on my porch furniture which is really annoying when I want to lay on my bench and take a nap only to find cat hair all over.

I think Marly must've had a litter because I saw Mitzi following her for a little while when she was a new kitten.  She's a teenaged cat now and she LOVES my yard.

I don't put out any food or water.  And I haven't been growing catmint or any other food substance a cat might like.  But I find her in my yard all the time.

I came home this past weekend to find her hunting around my yard again. I do have a lot of tall plants which would provide the perfect hiding spot for field mice or even chipmunks. I bet that's what she was after. We have a pretty clean alley so I'm sure it's hard for her to find good garbage to eat off of.


I walked up to her slowly expecting her to skitter away but she didn't.  So I sat on my chair and she nestled into the grass only four feet away from me to await the next hunt. 

I was talking to her the whole time and she didn't even flinch.  Weird, for a feral cat.  Then she spotted it.  A mouse?  A frog?  I couldn't tell.  But she walked right up to me (my legs were blocking her path).  She debated for a brief second about whether to chance it passing me or give up the hunt. 

She went for it, leaping over my legs over to the strawberry patch.  Quietly she strategized her battle plan:

She began to stalk the unsuspecting prey:

It caught on and tried to run, but she was right on its tail:

And, whatever creature it was, she followed it into the neighbor's yard.

I love this kitty and I don't know why.  I won't put food out for her (I don't want to encourage more alley animals).  And I won't let her into my house.  The Conductor and I are both allergic, I really don't like cats, and I have no desire to rehab a feral animal.

But I just adore her.  She's the prettiest thing. (She's got the most beautiful gold colored eyes!)  It's amazing to me how, even though I live in the city and have a yard the size of a postage stamp, Mother Natue still sends amazing creatures my way. 

In my next post, I'll share some more of the visitors to my yard.