Sunday, January 10, 2021

Orange and White in the Night

While Renn suffers from arthritis and is heading toward a dental procedure, and Neville grapples with his diabetes, there are other beasts to talk about. In particular, this time, it’s Arliss, one of my newer outsider-cats.

Arliss was extremely shy when I first began seeing him; he would remain a distance even from the glass doors to my concrete ditch, and run if, when eating from my food-bowl, he saw me watching him. Slowly, he appears to be accustomising himself to my presence. Hopefully, he understands that I am the human providing the food that he periodically eats.

Arliss, like Sable and, well, pretty much every outsider-cat, is an animal I would like to trap and socialise. But I know little about him. As may be seen from the pictures I took, he does not seem to be starving. Since he comes to Café Cosy only rarely, he must have other sources of food. Indeed, he may actually be an owned cat, whose owners let him wander about outside, and is timid only of strangers. For this reason, capturing him is not feasible.

His pattern of fur is unusual, I think. Orange and white, the former colour appears restricted to large patches on his back, head and face. In one photograph, his ears look grey, though in another, their backs, at least, are orange. Lighting at night is not dependable for accuracy in these matters.

As time goes by, I hope that he will become more used to me. Sable knows me and knows my voice. Once, when she was trotting away from another human, she halted when I called her, and came over to wait for some food. Yet she still won’t come within my reach. Arliss may be the same, especially since he and Sable know each other. But I hope some day, he will be more trusting. Until then, he knows where he can have decent food and clean water whenever he needs it. Perhaps the moment will arrive when he comes for the company, too.

17 comments:

  1. Arliss is such a beautiful cat, and I'm so glad that you're caring for him. He and Sable are so lucky that you provide food for them, especially during the cold winter months. I look forward to hearing more about the other wonderful animals that come to the Cafe Cosy.

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  2. He certainly is a good looking kitty and we hope he'll get used to you soon.

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  3. Handsome cat with some unusual orange markings and all the white down
    below and the legs. He does look well fed, but if he belongs to someone, too bad he is outside at all. Nice for you to see him eating occasionally. Also nice not to see snow on the patio.

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  4. Arliss is mighty handsome!
    I also hope he has a place to go to when it is cold.
    Purrs, Julie

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  5. He is a handsome boy. I am glad he knows he can get food at the Café Cosy, and hope that he becomes less shy of you in time.

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  6. I do hope he has a home.

    Speaking of orange cats, do you still see Sunrise around the feral colony near your work? I‘ve been wondering how he’s faring.

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    1. I haven't seen Sunrise in months, unfortunately. I fear for him. I think if I see him again, I will try to trap him, but I worry I won't have the chance.

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  7. Actually, me too. Undine's question.

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    Replies
    1. Thre's been no sign of Sunrise for a long time...

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  8. He's a handsome boy. I hope he's an owned who is skittish of others and has not been tossed out to manage on his own. Thanks for your continued aid to these cats.

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  9. Arliss is so handsome. We hope with all your kindness, he learns to trust you in due time.

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  10. Ah! What a lovely looking cat..
    She looks well and fit to..give
    her time, she'll come round, she
    knows where she's loved and fed,
    she'll turn to and say thankyou
    one day...! Bless!

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  11. Glad the strays know that they can find food at your place. His coloring is beautiful. I feed a stray who has similar coloring but more Orange than white. Feeding this guy for five years and he still won't let me get near him.

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    1. It must be exhausting, living his life so much in fear. Thank you for taking care of his nutrition; that's one less thing he has to worry about.

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  12. Hello there, Arliss!
    We've been lucky; once a community cat found our food and water bowls, they kept coming back regularly...even the neighbor's cat, whom I was just about ready to adopt until I discovered that he had a human. I miss that kitty.

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  13. We wish Arliss well and also think he is eating somewhere else rather than just stopping by Cafe Cozy. He looks grand and not rough in the least. Our Feral, Fanny, is out the cat flap if I peek into the back room at all and probably has another stop as she hardly eats at times.

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