My favorite picture of Ragi

Ragi (also known affectionately as 'Ragi-Mama') is mother or aunt to most of the Dining Hall Troop.

I like how I caught her with her tongue out here. Maybe I will use this photo at the top of the blog sometime.

The power of three!

The Dining Hall Troop (Ragi, her two sons, Orange Blossom, the orange tabby, and Caramel, the white and orange tabby) have the power of three to make food disappear. Another summer of 2009 photo. I am looking forward to spending time with the Dining Hall Troop once it gets warm and doesn't rain every day.

Ragi's Portrait

I think I already posted this one. But looking at Ragi in the summer makes me forget the cold winter. Ragi and Caramel are huddling together in some cat shelters close to where this photo was taken. They are staying warm and dry, which is very important.

Functions to Keep Separate

Even in winter, cats like to keep these basic functions totally separate: quiet, secure, dry and warm places to sleep, places to eat, places to go to the toilet. Therefore, it is best to have shelters where they can wait to get fed and even feed from, but it is necessary to keep them separate from where they sleep. Many cats are not going to feel secure sleeping too close to food, since food attracts other cats and other animals. In winter they won't typically stray too far from where they get fed, but trying to force them to sleep right where they eat is not a good idea at all.

Here is where Ragi and Caramel took a lot of their meals in December and January, when the weather was foul. I have since rebuilt this shelter area to include 4 boxes for them to sleep, rest and await food. And I have moved the feeding area to a different place. I have also made the extra roofs and wind blocks better at blocking out the driving rains and blowing snows. Ragi likes this shelter a lot because, if panicked, she can quickly run for cover under a temporary classroom trailer parked nearby. She and Caramel, her son, will share a box in order to stay warm when it gets below freezing. 

Cat Shelters to Help Them Survive the Cold, Wet Winter of Fukui

For the cats around the College of Education No. 1 Building, I have constructed 'cat shelters'--nekogoya in Japanese (cat huts?). The first ones I made for winter a year ago, I made from styrofoam boxes and duct tape. By adding roofs, which were extra pieces of styrofoam made from the lids of styrofoam boxes, I was able to make these fairly weathertight. But only if the shelter was well 'sheltered' itself, such as on the leeward side of a building (such as the east side) or up next to a wall. Also, last year in December one of these got crushed when someone plowing snow dumped a ton of snow on it--thankfully no cats were in it at the time!

So I since have constructed newer shelters from plastic tool storage boxes. These I line with styrofoam and/or all-weather carpet and/or foam carpet tiles. I have a group of four near the No. 1 building which Ragi, Caramel and Orange Blossom are using. Orange Blossom is also spending a lot of time out of the wet and cold of Fukui's winter with Shaun, by the No. 2 Building. This, by the way, is what is left of the 'Dining Hall Troop'. Gwen, the calico daughter of Ragi born 2 years ago, is living in styrofoam shelters set up in a bicycle shelter near the north side of campus. I'm trying to get her to move in with the Dining Hall Troop, but apparently she is afraid of Orange Blossom and Shaun. She lost her best home when they reconstructed the campus library; she used to live under the handicapped access ramp but the newly rebuilt one doesn't offer any 'inner recess'. The old one was like a cave in which she would hide.

The next issue to face is what to do for the Swimming Pool Gang, since their entire area is under re-construction. I'm guessing that Sheba, Gus and Buddy are sheltering under construction trailers as well as in the basement of the College of Science's No. 3 Building. But the No. 3 Building is also due for re-construction. So I'm going to have to move some of the more sturdier ones over to where they are. The problem is finding a place where they won't be disturbed and at which the cats will use them. 

Here is hoping for an early spring, too.


These are two boxes that went outside for the Dining Hall Troop. You can see that there is a styrofoam box inserted inside the storage chest. The entrance holes are fairly large, but that is because these boxes will be in a fairly sheltered space. If the box is going to out in the open, it needs to be anchored well and a 'box-within-a box' type construction works best. Also, it helps to make the entrance hole as small as possible and as high up the side of the box as possible. Finally, it is best to raise the chest up off the ground, such as with wooden boards or bricks.

When a cat gets inside this, they usually feel very warm and secure, so long as it is sheltered from the wind and snow.

I make boxes big enough for just one cat, and larger ones for two cats. Cats who don't spend that much time together in the summer will cuddle together in the winter in order to stay warm.

Dining Hall Troop in Summer

Now that it is the dead of winter, I thought it would nice to look back at some photos taken of the Dining Hall Troop in midsummer. From left top going clockwise, they are: Orange Blossom and Caramel taking a break in the shade of some trees, Ragi and Caramel near the old broken-down fountain (where they drink a lot of water), Ragi near the same fountain but with a different backdrop, and Orange Blossom posing in front of the Number 1 building of the College of Education (just west of the fountain). Click here or on graphic below to load and view the large, full image:

Dining Hall Troop All Together

The Dining Hall Troop is down to four adult cats (which is good because it means the kitten, Babe, has been rescued and Elvis and Gracie have found homes). They are Ragi, a calico, Caramel, Orange Blossom, and Shaun. Caramel and Shaun are both brown and white, while O.B. is a classic orange tabby (but without his tail). Here are some photos taken this year of them all. Ragi is the mother of Caramel and Orange Blossom and aunt to Shaun.

Here Orange Blossom stretches out and waits for dinner (with his brother Caramel behind him):

This is Shaun posing on the stoop of the College of Education #2 Building, where he spends much of his time:

Caramel is the hunter of the bunch. Here is doing that stalking thing amidst azaleas in mid-May:

I always think Ragi is such a beautiful cat:

Ragi and her daughter Gwen

Ragi is the matriarch of the Dining Hall Troop. She is a lovely 'mikeneko', classic calico cat. She is not fully used to people--I saw a student chase her the other day, the guy was just goofing around, but such behaviour from people isn't really going to make Ragi trust people very much. She lets me pet her before and during feeding, so actually she is rather friendly for a fully feral cat. She was born on the campus, grew up here and will most likely die here. If I had a large house in the country, I would not hesitate to adopt a cat like Ragi. She would just need her space and to be allowed to come and go in the surroundings.

Last year, her last born litter of three had one survivor. I called her Gracie then, but her identity got confused with another lovely little calico kitten, also born last year. So that 'changeling' stayed 'Gracie', while the original Gracie is now called Gwen. Gwen is a short-haired calico, and her dark color is actually a striped grey, which is truly lovely. Gracie (the changeling) is also colored like this, but her fur is rather long and she is a smaller cat than Gwen. Gracie has moved over to the Swimming Pool Gang, and lives next to Elvis, the alpha male of that location. Gwen has moved to the edge of the Dining Hall Troop. She lives behind or amongst some houses (houses in town in Japan are usually put very close together, creating spaces that cats can hide in), and she visits me for feeding at a bicycle stand near the north walk-in gate of campus, right behind the number one building of the College of Education (where my new office is). Whereas Gracie is rather used to people--once you feed her you can pick her up and pet her, and she has lived in my office for a couple weeks to get over a bad cold--Gwen is like her mother, Ragi, very shy, although used enough to people to let them get close to her when feeding.




Ragi, mother of Gwen, Orange Blossom, and Caramel. Aunt to Shaun and Gracie.





This was a photo taken last year in July, of Gwen (front) and her mother Ragi (behind).

Dining Hall Troops Enjoys Early Spring

This week I was able to take some up-close photos of Shaun, Ragi, Orange Blossom and Caramel.




Ragi gives it a sniff before devouring.




Orange Blossom and Caramel approach.



Orange Blossom (left) and Caramel (right)
enjoy a snack.





Shaun does his best to look cute.




Caramel puts on a very serious face.

Gracie, Newest Member of the Dining Hall Troop

Gracie, Ragi's youngest daughter, is a calico born last year. So she has had a hard time adapting to life on the campus. First, there is all the construction, which displaced her from her usual hiding place, under the handicapped access ramp to the library. And she is small, so other cats have bullied her a bit (most of the culprits are not regular campus cats apparently). But she seems to be doing well. She only comes out at night. She is also a health food advocate. She won't touch the dry cheap food. She prefers canned tuna or chicken--and she will let you know she doesn't like dry food! Although she only comes out at night, Gracie is used to me and to the lady who regularly feeds her. We can pick her up and pet her, so she is not at all wild towards us. Gracie is a beautiful cat (I wish I could get a nice daytime photo of her). She is white, orange and dark grey (the dark grey is striped too).

Meet Ragi, matriarch of the Dining Hall Troop

This is Ragi. She is a very successful and caring mother (now spayed, so she can't have anymore). Two of her sons are Orange Blossom and Caramel, already featured here at 'WE ARE FERAL CATS'. Ragi has a very gentle nature usually and tries to get along with everyone in the Dining Hall Troop. She also visits the other large group on the campus, the Swimming Pool Troop. There are occasional tiffs with Shaun (a nephew who will we feature in a future post).

She also gets angry sometimes when OB and Caramel are quarrelling (like when they are playing but they both get mad at the other for playing 'too rough'). She will wade right into their spat and sort things out. If she hears OB or Caramel sounding like they are in trouble, she comes running very fast to help them.