Piccolo and The Raccoon

Tonight I went back to feed Jag, Spirit, Ollie and Doodle some dinner.   Piccolo was there this morning for breakfast but I don't usually see him at the end of the day.  

The little raccoon with the stubby tail came out and she was very hungry. She kept coming over to me and no way was I going to scare her off. She could smell food and she was going to have some.  I gave her some dry cat food away from the other kitties and shortly after Piccolo appeared. 

Here's a short video of Piccolo and the raccoon

http://youtu.be/AiDmf5JIt5E. 

Meanwhile the other kitties finished eating and then relaxed

I'm very happy that the raccoons and the kitties get along.

The end of a colony.......?

Last October Tess died after being hit by a vehicle early in the morning.  Since then whenever I would see Jazz, her best buddy, he cried and cried.  In the eleven years prior I never heard a single meow from him so I feel he was mourning the loss and of course that broke my heart.

Que and Jazz are litter mates and were about 5 months old when I began feeding the Logan Gang in November 2002, along with a number of other kitties, including Tess.

Now that Tess is gone Jazz seems to have stopped coming to the feeding shelter and has not been using the nearby sleeping shelters he shared with Tess.  Even though I never saw it, I know the two of them curled up together in the shelter to sleep during the winter months.

Que has never been neutered so he continues to roam but he always returns after a few weeks.  I haven't seen either of the boys for a month and all evidence points to the fact that a raccoon is enjoying the food and water.

The plan had always been to care for the kitties until there were no more kitties and now I wonder if I'm at that point.  Are the two boys still around but have moved to new locations.....  My fingers are crossed they will both return.   Every morning I pull up beside their feeding shelter looking for them.  I still leave fresh food and water just incase.

The feeding shelter is waiting for them to return.  I miss them.

I hope one day soon to be ble to report back that they have returned.

The joys of TNR

Yesterday the plan was for me to try trapping Piccolo so he could participate in a spay/neuter clinic.  I got a trap from Robin a few days before, spent 20 plus minutes orienting myself to this unfamiliar trap and collecting the items needed.  The weather wasn't that great but it could certainly have been worse.  My thought was to try to trap Piccolo early afternoon so he wouldn't have to spend too much time in the trap in the back of my van before being delivered to the clinic around 5 pm.

Piccolo has been around everyday for the past week and I feel he has decided to make his home with the East Side Gang.  They don't seem to be upset that this handsome orange and white fellow is hanging around and of course I am already madly in love with him.

It was overcast yesterday with a threat of more rain.  However it wasn't raining when I arrived to feed the other kitties.  Ollie, Jag, Spirit and Doodle all came out to eat but no Piccolo.  I made myself comfortable sitting on a board that I use as a shelter for Spirit to eat under.  I was pretty sure Piccolo was around but maybe he was waiting for me to leave.  He usually comes out but keeps his distance.  I sat and sat and sat waiting.  No Piccolo.  I had my iPad so played card games while I waited.  Then it started to spit so I leaned forward protecting my iPad from the rain while I continued to wait.  After an hour of waiting and no signs of Piccolo I decided to pack it in.

This morning I went early to feed, but no Piccolo.  The other four kitties all came out for brekkie.  Later this afternoon I went back again to feed and could tell Rachel Raccoon had been by to devour any food remaining from this morning.  All the kitties ate well this afternoon and I hung around for about 45 minutes to see if there was any chance Piccolo would show up.  No luck.  Piccolo is off doing what unneutered boy cats do.  He will return and I hope to trap him when he returns.