Under the Radar and Overhead – part 1

Pauline sent me the foundation for this blog last month, and it’s taken me way too long to get posted! In fact, she blogged about so many cats, that I decided to split it into two sections...       BC

The majestic Pax - BC

With National Black Cat Day, Black Cat Awareness Month, and Halloween all in the October rear-view mirror, spotlighting some furry black friends is way overdue.  Many new black cats have arrived this year.  They tend to be under the radar and relatively shy or feral.  These are the ones who will likely be seen on a Sunday afternoon.

A Beetle in a Box - PC

Beetle has been making more appearances in the front courtyard this year.  Recognizable by his lynx ear tips, he arrived with his sister, Cricket, in 2017.  He hides much of the time.  Now, he will hang around nearby, socializing with other cats, but just out of reach. Occasionally he takes “out of reach” very seriously, and climbs from the front courtyard glider onto one of the struts that hangs out over the courtyard. He can’t get any further, but he seems to delight in looking down on the rest of the cat-world.

Layla showing her good profile - MW

Inside the Connor House, you might see black Layla - one of several cats that came to us from a hoarding situation.  Her fluffy appearance is alluring and she’s open to pets sometimes.  Layla is quite polite.  Unlike other cats, she won’t get upset if she gets overlooked, nor swat when over-stimulated.  Too many humans and she will look for higher ground and hang out with feral Frisky.  All-black Frisky, with very few defining characteristics, spends all day on the cage top and has zero interest in humans.

Zeus on arrival and after surgery - PC

Beautiful Zeus, fully recovered - KN

Zeus is a quiet fellow picked up as part of a massive trapping effort.  He has a large fluffy head and prefers the cage top.  Zeus didn’t particularly socialize with anyone.  Approach slowly, with your hands visible, and he might allow touching.  He’s still adjusting to his new life in the Val Jones corner, but doing much better since having surgery for entropion – inward-growing eyelashes. Life as a feral cat must have been very scary for him when he couldn’t see properly, and his eyes hurt. His surgery left him looking a little like a werewolf for a while, but now he’s out of pain, he is accepting attention from the volunteers with much less fear.

Handsome Pax - MW

Found in the same area was medium-haired Pax.  Pax is labeled as semi-feral, but has a positive opinion about people.  It didn’t take long for him to purr and enjoy the comforts offered up to him.  He’s an energetic boy, who sometimes earns a timeout for roughhousing other cats. There are some strong personalities in that pen! Pax has a distinctive shaped head that leads us to believe that he is the baby daddy for a number of the kittens trapped in the same place.

Neptune - PC

FeLv+ Neptune came in with Portia and Voodoo all the way from Portland, Oregon.  Portia, who is the calendar cover star this year, is comfortable in the baskets around the outside area of the leukemia area.  Voodoo (now gone) had a tipped ear and preferred the high rafters.  Big black Neptune is still cautious around people.  Sometimes, he’ll allow me to pet his soft coat.  He might choose to sit near me or chill out overhead.  These days, he won’t go anywhere without his BFF, Henrik, and he is also very friendly with his lookalike, Chateaux.  Both black cats are shy around humans.

Cheateaux - MW

Shy and feral seems to be a theme for black felines.  Hopefully, this will help ID the small panthers you might find.  More black cats to be spotlighted in part 2!

Blog by Pauline Chin

Photos by Pauline Chin, Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright