MISCELLANEOUS PORTRAITS OF SOME CAMPUS CATS

Below is Sheba, of the Swimming Pool Gang.





Next, it's Orange Blossom of the Dining Hall Troop. If you like orange tabbies, OB is your man!









Below is the 'boss' of the Swimming Pool Gang, Elvis. He is overall the friendliest cat on campus. There never was a set of arms on a human that Elvis feels wasn't meant to hold him. He is adorable.






This is the last photo I took of Bigwig, late last year. He was always willing to sit still for photos. Such an agreeable old fellow.

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.

Some more photos of Tiger Boy

I found a few more photos of Tiger Boy. Thanks go to Kem for her graphic commemorating Tiger Boy. His life was all too short but he was such a good friend. In the photo above (his constant companion, his sister, Maya Girl is on the left), you can really see Tiger Boy's lovely set of stripes. He was grey with black stripes, but he also had a lot of brown and even orange-brown on his chest--which is why I named him Tiger Boy.

Taken before Tiger Boy was a year old.

Taken about a month before he died. He was such a handsome cat!

Tiger Boy would--like most of the campus cats--rest in the shade of cars. He was wise to cars and trucks on campus, but most likely a very fast-moving car at night on the road north of campus confused him as to how fast it was approaching. He died about 200 yards away from where he was born and lived most of his short life. So wandering wasn't really the problem. Speeding drivers who also hurt children and elderly are.

Maya Girl and Tiger Boy are looking at some bugs.

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).

Tiger Boy, 2007-8

We all miss you Tiger Boy. You were one of the loveliest cats I've ever known, both in appearance and in personality. I wish I could have protected you better. And as much as I miss you, you know Maya Girl misses you even more. That's how special you were.

Maya Girl

Maya Girl is one of the veterans of the Swimming Pool Gang. I've known her as long as I've known Pushkin, although I think Maya Girl is younger. I'm guessing she is just two years old.

Maya Girl had a very special relationship with another cat of the Swimming Pool Gang, Tiger Boy. Tiger Boy was like her 'big brother'. They grew up together and then spent so much time as young adult cats together. They would sleep 'back-to-back' and protect each other. Tiger Boy was a much bigger cat, and yet he would play gently with Maya Girl, letting her wrestle him to the ground. They really loved each other, as is apparent from the photograph where they are cuddling together while sitting on a motor scooter.

Unfortunately, we lost Tiger Boy last year in mid-July. He wandered off campus and was struck by a car or truck on the very busy 'Nishikanjosen' Road, which is just north of campus.

Tiger Boy had a very different personality than Maya Girl--he very quickly made friends with people and loved to play. He would jump very high chasing flying insects. If I made shadows on the wall at night using the light from a street lamp, he would jump very high trying to catch the shadow puppets (he really liked the one that looked like a bunny and the one that looked like a profile of Richard Nixon). I remember once he jumped so high he fell over backwards from a height that was as high as my head. I thought he might have hurt himself, but he shook it off and wanted to keep on playing. That was Tiger Boy--usually he just wanted to play, and got along with most of the other cats.

When Tiger Boy disappeared (I only found out 10 days later what had happened), both Maya Girl and Pushkin were distressed. They would go out every night, trying to call him out or back to the area. Then Maya Girl would go to the East Gate of campus and wait and wait, and cry and cry. She stopped eating for a week and lost weight for about a month. I was really afraid for her, but she recovered her spirits and is now a very healthy cat.

She lives in canoes and kayaks that are stored on the south wall of the gymnasium, near the outdoor swimming pool. She has made good friends with a couple of students who will go and spend their lunch time holding her and petting her. So right now, since there are no classes, Maya Girl is a bit lonely.




A recent photo of Maya Girl (2009) taken at night.




In summer 2008, after she lost Tiger Boy and stopped eating. She lost a lot of weight.




This is a snap of Tiger Boy and Maya Girl taking a nap together on a motor scooter.

GUS, of the Swimming Pool Gang

Gus is the brother of Sheba. Both are black and white, but Gus is a very long lean cat and his fur is short, so he is easy to tell from Sheba. Also, Gus is a 'patchwork' boy, his black and white being more unbalanced on his face, with the left side being more black while the right is more white. Also, his legs (when you see him from the rear) look like they are in black trousers. He has a sweet disposition--never fights with any of the other cats, is always out waiting to meet me everyday. He is very shy, though, and I have only ever touched him once, right when I gave him some of his favorite food. He can usually be found spending time with his sister, Sheba. He has a bond with her somewhat like Tiger Boy and Maya Girl (also of the Swimming Pool Gang, which we will get to later in a future post).

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.

Sheba

Sheba is one of the black-and-white cats who graces the Swimming Pool area. For a completely feral cat (born and raised in the 'wilds' of the city of Fukui), she is a very friendly cat. She likes to pose for pictures and will even let me pet her and pick her up--unlike her brother, Gus, who is very shy (but a very nice likeable cat himself). Isn't she beautiful. She has a beautiful, plaintive voice too.

ELVIS LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meet Elvis newest member of the Swimming Pool Gang (unless I can convince Gracie to move over there). He appeared last year, in mid summer. He was very shy at first and seemed like a totally wild cat. Apparently what he was just a very scared domesticated cat (an escaped and lost pet or perhaps a pet someone dumped?). He soon became male boss of the Swimming Pool Gang and is absolutely the friendliest cat on campus. He even lets strangers pick him up and handle him for petting. He has an engaging and playful personality too.




Elvis recently visited my office and tried out the new office furniture.





Here he is asserting 'BOSS' status at the swimming pool. There is a certain swagger in that walk. He will boss around the other cats, but he doesn't bite. So I think most of the other cats don't mind his bossiness that much.

Matriarch of the Swimming Pool Gang

She is Pushkin--an adorable, gentle and usually very quiet kitty. She lives amidst overturned, suspended boats stored between the swimming pool office building and the kendo gym. She is very smart and knows how to stay out of trouble usually. Pushkin is great stress relief, as she will sit quietly with you and listen to all your troubles and just purr. Nicknames: Pooty-poot, Pushkers, Pushkerwhiskers.

O'Malley, the Alley Cat

I thought 'O'Malley' was a nice name for this little guy. He is a 6 month old (or possibly less) orange tabby who would appear to have three Y chromosomes. He has chased off from the food dish the biggest food hog in the Dining Hall Troop, Shaun, who looms over the little fellow. Orange Blossom, who is perhaps the most macho of the cats here, also didn't know what to make of little O'Malley and ran away from him as fast as he could. O'Malley has been fixed and innoculated in the hopes that he can be adopted quickly. PLEASE SOMEONE! If you live in W. Japan, we will deliver.

Gracie, Again

Actually, Gracie is now no longer the newest member of the Dining Hall Troop. That's because a new member has arrived. Someone just recently dumped a kittenish orange tabby, who will be featured next. Also, we have had something of a revelation about our Gracie. She is, as it turns out, a CHANGELING! I always wondered how she went from being a lovely short-haired calico to a lovely long-haired calico. Well, it seems there has been a case of mistaken identity. This Gracie is a long-haired calico and always was. Which means she is not Ragi's daughter--more likely she is a niece, and is somehow related to Shaun (perhaps he is an uncle or something).

Here is what happened. We trapped, spayed and released a young calico last summer and she disappeared right around the library on campus started undergoing construction (that is because she had been living under the handicapped access ramp and had to find a new home). Then around the same time a mostly nocturnal, shy little calico appeared not far away where Shaun is seen most often. And the two cats got their identity confused.

This Gracie (the Changeling) will stay Gracie, and the original Gracie has been re-named Gwen. We will have to get a photo of Gwen up as soon as we can. She will also count as a member of the Dining Hall Troop.

Finally for this blog entry on the feral cats of University of Fukui campus, there is a bit of news about our changeling Gracie. She is spayed and will not be having any kittens. She has been living in my office for the past week, recuperating from a cold. She is over her cold, and we can happily report that Gracie is 'adoptable'. She uses litter boxes and soon gets used to people. She is actually quite adorable and craves affection and is quite affectionate in return. Still yet another example of a feral cat who could not bond to people when she was a small kitten (because she had to fight for her survival as a 'feral cat') and yet who proves to be quite tame around the people who care for her.