Tiger Baby posed for a nice portrait

He has such nice green eyes. He's a friendly little fellow. If I find a home for Babe soon, I would like to bring Tiger Baby inside and see if he can adapt to indoor living. He's very affectionate and naturally curious. For a complete feral, he is amazingly friendly to people once he knows that they are not cat haters. TB's nicknames include: Tiger Bubby, Tiger Booby, Tiger Bubski,  and Lil Weasel.

Tiger Baby

Tiger Baby was born late in 2008, and, like Gracie and Gwen, I feared he wouldn't make it through that first winter. He huddled with Bootsie-mama, his mother, and Pancho, who we call his 'uncle' because he is older and protective of TB. His father, the older tom, Bigwig would also look in on the little fellow. Bigwig used to sit behind TB and watch him eat.

TB has really grown to be a beautiful 'classic tabby' cat, and he is very friendly once you get his trust. Like Tiger Boy, to whom he is closely related (same father), he has a lot of brown color coming out in his grey. His chest is an almost orangish-brown.

He, Bootsie and Pancho are nearly inseparable. They live amongst a cluster of houses and apartments near the university's tennis courts. Their territory neighbors Gwen's, and Bootsie-mama is most likely a sister of Ragi, the calico who mothered so many of the campus cats. I remember about 5 years ago a litter of kittens that included Ragi, Bootsie and a female grey tabby who lived off campus, at the SE end.

Tennis Court Attachment Collage

The Tennis Court Attachment is comprised of Bootsie/Bootsie-mama, Pancho/Uncle Pancho, and Tiger Baby/Tiger Boobie. They have all survived the awful winter and are looking forward to the warmer weather, and the 'tonic' of being able to eat insects and some greens.

I haven't taken so many photos of this group because the neighbors are hostile. Bootsie seems to have been injured over a month ago, and she has a scar on her face and walks with a limp. However, she seems to have recovered mostly. I would like to re-locate this group because of the hostility of the local people, and if I can, I will try to get Bootsie treated for that limp. This is a very tight-knit cat family which holds its territory together and so spends most days and nights together.

These photos were taken last summer. I will try to get some newer photos of them as well as Gwen, who is on the other side of the tennis courts, taking up the the NW flank of the Dining Hall Troop, at its most far-flung extension. I also have neglected to get good photos of Buddy, Gus and Sheba's good friend over by the swimming pool.

Tennis Court Attachment

The Tennis Court Attachment of feral cats is comprised of Tiger Baby, his uncle Pancho, and his mother, Bootsie. Bigwig fathered Tiger Baby last year. Uncle Pancho, a brother of Bootsie, also stuck around to be a very protective guardian of Tiger Baby (who was, as is typical, the one kitten of three who survived). Bigwig was a founding member of both the Tennis Court Attachment and the Dining Hall Gang--as well as father to members of the Swimming Pool Troop (while his rival, Sylvester, who lives just off campus, on the SE corner, is most likely father of some of the members of the Dining Hall Gang).

And as for nicknames, Tiger Baby is also known as Tiger Bubby and Wheezer. Pancho is called Uncle Pan-pan. And Bootsie is called Bootchan and Boo-boo.




Tiger Baby, at about 6 months old.




At about the same age, hiding under a car with his uncle Pancho.




Pancho is a really good-looking cat. There aren't many around here with his colors.




Bootsie is called that because her feet appear to be in white socks.




I think Bootsie might be a sister of Ragi. They were born near the College of Education No. 1 building on the north side of campus, and Ragi moved southeast and Bootsie moved northwest.
Everyone who meets her thinks Bootsie has a very cute face. Tiger Baby is quite used to me, but Bootsie and Pancho are very afraid of most people--and the neighborhood residents don't like cats, so that isn't going to change much. Still, they are very friendly for feral cats, and they let me play with and hold Tiger Baby.

Bigwig ? - 2008

Bigwig was the patriarch of the campus cats. He, and a black-and-white rival tom named Sylvester, most likely fathered most of the cats now living on campus (except for the ones people kept as pets and dumped here in the past 3 years). Bigwig was fully feral, but he was a very friendly cat. He didn't like being petted or touched much, but he would follow me around on campus and come running to me when he saw me. He had to be the oldest cat on campus. I had hoped that by getting him fixed we could extend his life (really, all that fighting and roaming to breed were taking their toll). But he seemed to get weaker and weaker last fall, until he disappeared. I last saw him in front of the College of Education building number 1, where he appeared to be thin but otherwise all right--and he ate all the food I gave him then. But I never saw him after that, and it looks like he passed away during the winter.

Winter here is rather harsh for the campus cats because it is rather long and cold and wet, and there is a shortage of shelter for them. It might be easier on them if it were a little colder, but instead of snow, we usually get ice-cold rain. More than food everyday, what cats need in the winter is a safe and dry place to sleep. I have tried to help them by building 'neko-goya'--cat shelter boxes (which I will show in a future post).

By the end of his life, Bigwig had at least two families going. He had fathered cats on campus. I think he was, for example, the father of Tiger Boy. And I believe he was also the father of Shaun (they had very friendly interactions). But he also fathered a family just north of campus, around the university tennis court area (near where I live). He was a very smart cat indeed, as he had mastered how to cross the very busy circumnavigational road to the north of campus. He would come over to campus to get fed, but he would regularly go back to visit his family (which will be featured here as the 'Tennis Court Attachment'). When I first got to know him, I thought he was two different cats--the older tom I saw near my apartment and the older tom on campus near where Orange Blossom, Caramel and Shaun hang out. Sometimes he would beat me home!

He was, believe it or not, a very devoted father. He would go back and spend time with his beautiful little son, Tiger Baby (you will see him in a future post as well). They would eat together. He would stand back in a very protective stance and watch while Tiger Baby ate.