9-Lives is a brand-name cat food and I bought a bunch on sale last week but the Queen of Chubbiness and the Prince and Princess of Pussycat Pickiness will not eat it. I was going to dump all of it and recycle the cans but thought about what BL and Wooley had commented. So yeah I've been laying it out in an extra feed dish for strays and yesterday the bride told me that she had watched a large dark Persian-like cat fill up with a free meal.

This morning I caught the mostly white cat I call Shiloh Junior catching a good feed (got no clue if it's male or female but it's young).



The original Shiloh perched in the bathroom and just stared silently with great interest.

I brought in an empty feed dish shortly after I posted the photos. Shiloh Junior gobbled down an entire can of 9-Lives. You feel so sorry for feral cats but three are enough for me.

Nice of you...you can always buy cheap, canned cat food for the strays...they don't have to move in...just get a decent meal now and then...make a lousy life a little better...

I hear you, Wooley. I once knew a Marine that went out under fire to snag a puppy and bring it back to safety. Pup and Marine went back to the states and that's all I know about that deal.

And I also see the shows about animal hoarding now and again on Animal Planet. The poor woman with kindness in her heart whose small home was overrun by 78 cats with more being born every day had me with claws out on the recliner. The plan here was to adopt one and keep the momcat Mister Mittens. Two males were adopted and the runt girl Shiloh was left behind. Sweet Babycakes wasn't going to the town shelter to be killed and many weeks later the North Shore Animal League (no kill) phoned me back to take the kitten but by then our Civil War girl Shiloh (aka Sweet Babycakes) was thriving and brawling her brother and running all over the house as the "white blur" just thrilled to be alive. I think she knew she was a "runt" and was lucky to be alive - Jeez, that tiny girl kitten would race all over the place and squeal with joy to catch a meal and a warm place to sleep. A few grand later the three cats are neutered and living large and that's OK by me - the bride and I love them and they are sweet gentle animals (even the "old" 2-year-old former loose street girl Mister Mittens).

But I understand that woman from that show on Animal Planet - three cats can become 30 and then 60 and beyond. The wife and I have saved three and have set them up to live a long time with good loving care. I can lay food outside but I'm not looking to snag any more feral cats to be housemates.

Mom Nature can take her course with them (as old Marine thought) as much as that distresses my heart and mushiness (as old human thought).

I bought a load of generic canned cat food this morning (it's called "My Favorite Cat Food") with the 9-Lives gone and laid out a can in a clean feed dish. Within minutes Shiloh Junior showed up and had a fine meal while eyeballing the house. I can't get near the cat yet but we'll see what happens when spring gets here. Right now the cat simply understands that it pays to cruise by the deck out back in the morning and it's bright enough to do just that.

Ah....you are going to heaven!