# Invasion of the black tomcats **Update - good news!**



## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

A few nights ago, I found a black shorthair tomcat on my porch. He was very vocal, but also very timid, and wouldn't let me come near. Eventually I managed to catch him in my Havahart trap.  I put him in my dog crate (while he hollered up a storm -- he's _very _vocal), made a neuter appointment, and named him Stephen. 

So I was quite startled the next night when I came out on the porch and found the same timid black cat yowling at me. I ran back to check the crate, certain he had escaped -- but no, it was a second, almost identical cat! This one has a small white locket on his chest, and happily, appears to be already fixed. I named him Greg.

Stephen and Greg will be joining other neighborhood tomcats Rocky (black with white locket), Stuart (all black), Robert (black with white locket), Tom (all-black longhair). Recent neighbors have also included Toshiro (all black), Buddy (all black), and Cosmo (all-black longhair).

Everytime we think we've reached our statistical maximum of black tomcats, more show up. So far all of them except Tom have been fixed, but my husband thinks they're reproducing by asexual division. :lol:


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

My goodness, do they have abreeding pair stashed somewhere?


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Aww...to think of all those beautiful black cats without an indoor home. You're so kind to help them, Jet!  
Maybe Stephen has some Siamese ancestors. My last black cat (of many!) was mostly Siamese, other than color, and she talked up a storm. What a personality she had! She was a little lost kitten, as most of my cats have been, and almost all have been black.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Hmm, Greg is certainly talky, so maybe he has some Siamese in him. Stephen just cries a lot (although he's been a little happier since I moved him into a bigger dog crate).  About half of the black cats are owned by neighbors (and thankfully fixed), so they may have been imported in from other places. The other half are battle-hardened ferals and may all be related. 

My next-door neighbor said that years ago, there was a couple that kept a unfixed girl cat, who had litter after litter. They kept hauling the kittens off to the shelter, year after year. One time they decided to keep one of the kittens -- female -- which they never fixed -- so then there were even more litters! They moved out before I moved in, which is good, because I _would _have strangled them. :evil: 

A striking percentage of the cats around here, and in the neighborhoods immediately surrounding, are black and white in some combination. I would love to have them all DNA tested and see how they're related. Not for any activist reason, just because I'm curious. I always wonder if my own black and white cats, who were born wild on the other side of the city, are their distant cousins.

However, I aim to keep that family tree from sprouting any new branches, at least in my yard. :wink:


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## carolsclan (Jun 28, 2006)

we also have a predominantly black and white collection of strays ...also not contributing to the local population anymore :lol:


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

carolsclan said:


> we also have a predominantly black and white collection of strays ...also not contributing to the local population anymore :lol:


Heh! Glad to hear it.  

He's hard to see, but here's a photo of Stephen. He likes the big crate because he can hide far enough back in it to avoid me petting him. Also, he refused to look at the camera until I made raspberry noises at him.









His eyes are actually much prettier than that, like a pale shade of lemon-lime.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Stephen is so very handsome!  

How do you get such true colors? I have blue eyed cats and their eyes are very light, with no pupil or iris.  Other than no flash, is there anything I can do? None of the programs for red eye work.  This is my bridge kitty, Precious. (very precious to me) It's small, but you can see what I mean.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Precious looks very pretty! I can't see her eyes that well on my small monitor, but they look green. Do they come out glowing? My cats' eyes sometimes come out that way, like a green version of red-eye.

I never think that the colors are very accurate. My girl Hinata has yellow eyes, but here they look Halloween orange! Plus with black cats, you can barely tell that they have noses. :lol:


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## nklincoln (Aug 2, 2005)

I sit here laughing. My sister adopted a black cat. I told her look at her nose it is so black look at her lips they are so black. She laughs and says ya that is why they are called black cats. All my babies have pink noses and pink mouths. LOL. I love black cats but don't tell my babies.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I love black cats too! They're like black satin, aren't they?


The pictures of my cats don't show eyes, only a glow. I know this is a bigger problem with blue eyed cats, but it's a real disappointment that all of their pictures come back like that!


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

I have a soft spot for black cats too. :blackcat :love2 Recently there was an article in the local paper about a no-kill shelter, and they said that black cats are the least popular and hardest to adopt out. So I think when my current cats have passed (hopefully many years from now) and I'm ready to adopt a new bunch, I'll try to take in some black ones. I probably won't have to go any farther than my front porch!

Not a black cat, but is this the effect you were talking about, Jeanie? (Demonstrated by Hissy.)










This mainly happens for me if I take a picture looking straight into their eyes. If the head is at an angle or the eyes are looking away, it's not so bad.










Here it's going on with Yoshi (left) but not Taro, because of the angles.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Yes, that's how they turn out! I heard that your technique works, and I have tried it on my latest roll of film. However, I understand this is a problem with blue eyed cats. I'm hoping, though! 

I also have a weakness for Tuxedo cats, so your cat is absolutely not safe!


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Jeanie said:


> I also have a weakness for Tuxedo cats, so your cat is absolutely not safe!


Every one of my cats is either black or tuxedo, so you're not allowed to come visit! :lol:


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

My big boy, Taz, is a tuxedo. Shhhh, he's my favorite.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Too late!  He's a beauty!


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

What a pretty boy!


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

*HELP!!!  *

I decided to release Stephen today. It had been several days, he was doing fine, and he seemed really anxious to get out -- crying a lot, trying to get out the door whenever I came to feed him. OK, all good.

So I let him out this morning...and he won't go. The cat that couldn't stand me petting him yesterday is suddenly stuck to me like glue. Headbutts, rubbing against my legs, purring, even letting me pick him up! Stephen is clearly not feral and he clearly wants human affection. But he _will not stop crying._

He wants my undivided attention, but he still keeps intermittently wandering off crying at the top of his lungs, like he's calling for someone. If I go in the house, he cries non-stop. And he's _loud._ The next door neighbors are thankfully not home right now, but if this doesn't stop, it will disturb them and they will complain. Having even one free-roaming cat is illegal, and I have half a dozen ferals now, so this is the one thing that I cannot afford to have happen.

I finally had to lock him back in the crate, which is covered by a blanket, and he has calmed down somewhat. I also put a call into the local no-kill shelter. If they have room, which is doubtful, maybe they'll take him. I don't know who's going to want a big scarred-up black tomcat who cries non-stop, but I don't know what else to do.  

Has anyone else had an experience like this, and do you have any advice? (Other than bringing him inside, which I absolutely can't do.) Thanks for any input.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Oh, Jet, that's heartbreaking! He loves you.  I assume he was a stray, and now remembers how great it was to be a pet. I don't know why he's crying, but, (don't throw something!) I wish you could keep him. OR, maybe you could find his owner. He might have been lost. Perhaps an ad in the paper might be helpful. He's probably been in quite a few fights over females, poor thing. 

Just one idea: could he have a painful abcess?


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Thanks, Jeanie. I don't think it's an abcess. The surgical site looks fine, and he's walking around, eating, pooping, etc. all normally. I just fed him and let him roam for a bit, and he was rolling around in the dirt, all cute. 

He seems to enjoy being out of the crate, he just gets anxious if one of us isn't out there with him. He's so sweet now. I wish I could bring him indoors and give him the love that he needs.  But I can't, so the only thing I can do is try to help him find a real home. And yes, I will place a found-cat ad, just to be sure.

I won't hear back from the shelter until tomorrow. It's still kitten season, so I'm not optimistic. But he was quiet inside the crate all afternoon, so I'm a little less panicky now. If he'll stay quiet, I can keep him here indefinitely, until a bed opens up. 

   Poor Stephen. I just want him to be happy.


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## Sweetvegan74 (Jun 18, 2005)

I have a black bounty of cats too in my area: Tony (now lives with me) another cat Pudd could be his brother or son there were two black cats that were TNR at 4 months old. They all look alike I am guessing Tony was the Pa and Girly was the Ma she is all black too. I did some research on feral cats and it seems that out of all colors Black shorthair and Tabbies are most common since they can blend in better with their surroundings. And when left to breed on their on in generations they all wind up becoming tabbies. Take my Tiger Lily for instance for example when a feral kitten I thought she was going to be a Snow shoe but as she became an adult her tabby stripes came in:








Tiger Lily at 3-4 months old








Tiger Lily now


I hate Red Eye too! The best thing to do is take a picture in bright natural light without the flash. (-;


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

She's a beautiful kitty, Gina! Tabby points are so cute. I'm glad you were able to rescue her.  

I didn't know that black was a common feral cat color, but it does make sense, for camouflage.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Well my husband, rather surprisingly, has been working on me to try to hang onto Stephen.  We both feel bad about taking him to the shelter, partly because he's so attached to me, and partly because he may be a problem to adopt out. In addition to the noise, he's been an outdoor cat for a long time, and he really isn't entirely socialized.

So far, as I mentioned, unless I lock him in the crate, the kitty howls whenever I leave him alone. He knows I'm in the house and cries at the door. But my husband suggested I let him out today while I'm at work. Let him see me drive away, and if he's going to howl at the door anyway, let him get it out of his system while most of the neighborhood is at work. And maybe he'll remember that there are more fun things to do out there!

So that's what I did. I may have twenty angry notes on my door at the end of the day, but we'll see. If I could get him to a point where he didn't constantly violate the noise ordinance, I could at least keep him as an outdoor kitty. It's not ideal, but it might be the best option...this is all still a big "if", though. :?: 8O


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I really hope it works out, Jet! I hope he doesn't go anywhere ! You're probably both attached to him! I'm glad he can stay.


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## Sweetvegan74 (Jun 18, 2005)

Okay I went through this almost the same way with Tony! Last May he was TNR'ed. he was timid and feral, never made a peep, only ate when I went in the house. Then in the fall he wanted me to pet him. I believe he is like your stephen was owned, dumped, then turned feral to survive, then once neutered and fed reverted to being domestic. If Tony was by himself he would not stop crying! Then at night he would go MEOW? MEOW? MEOW! and paw at the door at the same time. Of course I gave in and brought the big sissy in. He now only mews when called or when he wants to be left in a room. Your Stephen clearly LOVES you and wants YOU to be his guardian! I am glad your going to let him stay.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Tony does sound a lot like Stephen!  It sounds like he's really won your heart, and I'm glad he's doing so well as your indoor kitty.

Stephen's doing much better now. I guess he was having a lot of fun yesterday, because he took off and didn't come back until this morning. I found him conked out on my back doorstep. He happily accepted breakfast and some cuddling, but he didn't seem anxious or cry at all. I think he's going to be fine now.  

It occurred to me that he probably has another human sugar mama (or more than one) somewhere else in the neighborhood. He wasn't one of "my" ferals before this, but he was already well-fed. I wonder if anyone was worried about him, being missing for more than a week. Well too bad -- now they have to share him! :wink:


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## fellajetandmonster'sslave (Aug 5, 2003)

*black cats*

I too have a weakness for black cats---am currently owned by two Lh, and two SH females---one of the LH is from a feral mom-I have two of her babies-they are the most well-behaved of my 6 furbabies- can't believe blacks are hard to adopt out-since I am addicted to them-


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

My Taz will call out and check where I am around the house. If I don't answer he will keep calling. You can some stuff called Comfort Zone, it just might help me to feel less stressed for a while.


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