Last year, two of the many cats that wandered through our yard were ginger tabbies. I didn’t realize that there were two until both showed up at the same time.
This year, I have only ever seen one ginger on the property at any given time. It has been a menace, and I’ve mentioned various reasons why before here. There was also the mangled monarch story which I can’t definitely say was the ginger cat’s fault for certain, but circumstances made it hard to dismiss the possibility.
One neighbor tried to take it in, after having brought in another stray, but it fought with the other and she eventually gave up. The last time I talked to her, I suggested maybe it was an unneutered tom, and it could calm down after.
What’s odd is that roughly a month ago, the ginger has been acting a lot differently. To the point where I’m questioning if it really is the same one. I did recently find out the not as much of a menace is female, so if it is the same, there went my neuter theory out the window.
Lately it keeps hanging around, mewling for attention (possibly food), and does not seem shy of humans at all. Before, the ginger would sometimes roll on its back in the “aww, don’t be mad–look how cute I am!” way, but never mewled or tried to get as close as lately.
Again, this could be like last year where until I saw them together, I thought there was only one. So I’m really not sure because I have not seen two ginger tabbies together this year. Then something interesting happened which maybe has also made the difference?
I think it was a day or so after the mangled monarch debacle where I happened to look out the upstairs bath window in the morning and spotted the ginger with another kitty that was all black. They both seemed to be taking a lazy stroll about at first. I noticed the black’s belly seemed a bit low, and same also briefly entered the doghouse before exiting. If they were hunting, they were being quite casual about it. I was more worried that the black one was perhaps pregnant and looking for a place to have kittens.
Yesterday, when I was pulling weeds near the front walkway, the ginger stopped by alone and did its darndest to get attention for at least a half hour before finally giving up and moving on.
Today, both showed up again while I happened to be outside taking some pictures in our backyard.
The black one is definitely also used to humans. Strolled right on up to me shortly after I took this picture and had put my camera back in my pocket so I could pull a few stray weeds. I was tempted to do a gender check, but I thought it best to wait since this was my first close meeting with it. This does not seem to be the same as the one I snapped a picture of earlier in the year (which of course I now can’t find for comparison, but that was a farther off shot anyhoo).
For now, I’m not going out of my way to shoo them, but I’m not being overly nice either. Is it the same ginger, and now that it has a buddy it seems to get along with, it calmed down? I really don’t know.
