At the cats-only boarding facility, we keep an eye out for abandoned or feral cats. Leftover food from the guests is set out twice a day for our “regulars”. We even do our best to catch, spay or neuter, and find homes for the feral cats who hang out behind the building.
But those aren’t the only abandoned kitties I deal with. There’s a sizable abandoned cat population at the apartment complex where I live.
There are two in particular who live and hang out right by my door: a pair of mostly black kitties. One is extremely friendly; the other is much more skittish. They spend a lot of time together, sitting on the warm hoods of freshly parked cars or catching some sunshine while sitting on the neighbor’s window ledge.
I’m a big cartoon fan, so I named them after a pair of cartoon characters: Cosmo and Wanda, the fairy godparents from Nickelodeon’s Fairly OddParents. Cosmo is the friendly one, who likes to roll around on the steps and get petted. I’m fairly sure this cat used to have a family, because Cosmo is not shy about walking up to people or peeking in windows. Wanda is the shy one, who I only see at a distance. I’m not sure if Wanda is actually a boy or girl; Cosmo is actually a Cosma, I think. She’s got that poochy belly you often see on a spayed female cat.
We don’t put food out for Cosmo and Wanda — they both seem pretty well fed, so someone else must be putting food out. But they have a nest in the bushes at the back corner of the building and another one in the bushes next to my neighbor’s front door. (The dogs are often chasing Cosmo and/or Wanda out of the front landscaping.) When the weather is extremely hot, we do put out a little bowl of water.
One of the vets at work offered to check the cats out if I can catch them and bring them in. I’m fairly sure I could catch Cosmo, but less sure I could catch Wanda — I’d probably have to try to set a trap. And Cosmo is friendly enough that I’m sure she’d find a home easily — but again, I can’t say the same for Wanda.
At the moment, they seem pretty healthy and well fed. But unless they have an “owner” who leaves them out around the clock, it seems like Cosmo and Wanda are on their own. And they’re pretty okay neighbors, really.