{"id":25251,"date":"2023-08-31T16:56:39","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T20:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=25251"},"modified":"2023-08-31T16:59:23","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T20:59:23","slug":"episode-855-did-a-feral-tom-cat-come-for-a-visit-with-chelsea-bun-father-of-our-kitten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=25251","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 855 DID A FERAL TOM CAT COME FOR A VISIT WITH CHELSEA BUN (father of our kitten)"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE 855      DID A FERAL TOM CAT COME FOR A VISIT WITH CHELSEA BUN (father of our kitten)<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
august 31,2023<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
IMAGES OF OUR KITTEN (ABOVE)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
IMAGES OF FERAL TOMCATS (BELOW)<\/div>\n
\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
ALAN, I NEED HELP<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAlan, stop the tractor, I need help!\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the problem?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe cat got out\u2026I saw her heading for the swamp,\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow did she escape?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI have no idea\u2026doors were closed.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Our new family addition  is CHELSEA BUN  so named because she<\/div>\n
looks like  a Chelsea bun\u2026dark with patches of cream coloured fur here and there\u2026one definite whitish paw and a<\/div>\n
 cream coloured dollop between her eyes.  She is not likely to win a prize at a cat show.    Here tail is broken.   But she is the<\/div>\n
smartest cat we have ever owned.  Smart enough to dart out a crack in the door without us noticing.<\/div>\n
\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
You go around the swamp from one side, I will go the other way shaking the food bag.<\/div>\n
Maybe we can get her before a coyote does.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot much danger of coyotes here at the farm.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCity coyotes are far more numerous.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cA few years ago neighbourhood cats roamed quite freely   today we have not seen<\/div>\n
a cat for years.   Cats make a good coyote dinner except for the fur which is obviously excreted in coyote dung.<\/div>\n
Few coyotes at the farm.   But they are present if unseen.  So we  were a bit anxious.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
We were given Chelsea Bun by a farm neighbour, Elizabeth Porter.  She had a surprise batch of kittens in March<\/div>\n
\u2026the result of a feral Tom Cat who briefly visited and left his calling card.   Tom cats are rare.  Most are<\/div>\n
,fixed, (i.e. castrated) .   Tom cats are generally unwelcome\u2026like stallions, bulls, boars and other males.<\/div>\n
We did know one thing about the father of our kitten.  He was tortoise shell \u2026. like the Chelsea bun.<\/div>\n
But that is all tha was known.  No one saw him do the \u2018job\u2019 on the neighbour farm cat.   It was likely a night time<\/div>\n
romance.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
“Our kitten must look like the father\u201d  said Elizabeth. So different from their mother.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I searched one side of the swamp and could hear Marjorie shaking  the cat food box.   We found  nothing.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWhere did you see her?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDown by he Shaver barn\u2026..she darted across to the swamp.   Lean and swift\u2026no intention  of <\/div>\n
being tricked by food.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s give up and hope she comes back on her own.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
So we went back to the farm house and guess what we found?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAlan, the kitten is back in the house.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cImpossible.\u201d<\/div>\n
Chelsea Bun was snuggling up against Marjorie as if nothing had happened.<\/div>\n
And nothing had happened,  No escape at all.  Then sho in hell were we searching for in<\/div>\n
the swamp?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cI think that was Chelsea Bun\u2019s father.   Looked exactly like Chelsea Bun\u2026.tortoise shell colours.<\/div>\n
\u201cA wild cat\u2026feral\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBut our farm is several kilometres from the Porter\/Kilner farn   Seems a long distance.”<\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe not.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDo you think the Tom cat came to see his daughter\u2026to see Chelsea Bun?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI think that is pushing things.   Cats are not people.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe he is living in one of our barns but cautious  and never seen.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLike  the coyotes.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
EVIDENCE SEEMS TO SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT THIS FERAL TOM CAT WAS REALLY THE FATHER<\/div>\n
OF CHELSEA BUN,   DID HE REALLY COME TO CHECK UP ON HIS DAUGHTER?.  NOW THAT IS PURE CONJECTURE.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
TOM CAT TERRITORY<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
1,351 acres (2.1 square miles)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n