Typical

I was on my way out the door to meet some friends for dinner, but as I was locking up, I saw Barnaby out in the grass. Clearly I had to run back inside and grab my camera as pictures of Barnaby are on the scarce side.


So I had my camera and was locking up when Tuxie came bounding up the stairs, squeaking.


Clearly I had to run back inside and grab some food since Tuxie seemed hungry.

So I had the food and my camera and was locking up when Mr Mistoffolees came peeking up the stairs.

I poured out the food and stepped back and Tuxie came on up and started chowing down. Knowing that pretty much any other kitty would be too nervous with me there, I went down the second set of stairs, ready to head for my car.

And found Walsingham bounding towards me.



Then Athos showed up, but he's a spooky kitty and not so sure.


Walsingham led the way up the stairs.




Tuxie showed him where the food was.


The others weren't so sure 'til I was farther away.


Barnaby even finally joined the party.


Need I mention I was late for *my* dinner?


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In other news, two things:

1. Still no word from management. I'm playing it a bit coy, for now. When I pay my rent this week, I'll ask. As a professor of mine just put it, I want to be the squeaky wheel who gets the grease, not the wheel that squeaks so much it gets replaced.

2. It seems that DNL is no longer feeding the kitties. I think that's why Tuxie was so brave to come so close, squeaking for food, and the other cats all came running when they heard me pour out the fuds. I haven't seen any food out near DNL's usual feeding spot. Worse, the water dish-- one of those deals where you fill up a reservoir and gravity does the rest-- was completely empty. DNL always took care of that. I haven't yet spoken with DNL, so I don't know if this is a temporary lapse, if she's away, or if she's abiding by the rules that appeared on our doors last week, but it means more responsibility (and more financial issues) for me. I'm not pushing for donations just now 'cause I haven't heard anything yet about being allowed to TNR, but if you wanted to put a few dollars in to go towards buying food, I'd appreciate it. (And sooper special thanks to Duckierose for her recent donation! Pigpen and all the others thank you.)

Meet Pigpen

(Each, um, every-once-in-a-while Project Cat will post a profile and pictures of a Colony Cat, whether it's one who has been around from the get-go, or a new comer. Today? Pigpen.)


Name: Pigpen, named for the Peanuts character who is always followed by his own little cloud of dust. Pigpen, as you can tell from her pictures, always looks dirty.


Sponsor: Yes, by the wonderful Duckierose.

Joined Colony: Pigpen's been around as long as I've been watching and taking notes on the colony.
Altered: Alas, no. During the great TNR-Adventure of 2008, Pigpen became my nemesis as she consistently investigated by avoided all the traps we set out-- both the usual kind triggered by an animal walking in, and drop traps, where cats can walk under what amounts to a box and have a stick pulled out from it. The only reason I can, with any certainty, call her a "she" is because calico markings are genetically sex-linked-- only female cats can have both orange and black spots (generally.) Calicos and tortoiseshells are almost always female.

(The picture below is one of my absolute favorites I've ever taken of the colony. And you wonder why I call her my nemesis?)


Distinguishing Characteristics: Pigpen is precisely the style of cat I think of when someone says calico. Technically a calico is any cat with orange, black and white spots, and Pigpen certainly exemplifies this style, being mostly white, with the other two colors as splotches. Also, as I mentioned above, she is almost always dirty looking. I don't know if she's actually dirtier than the other cats in the colony, or just appears this way because she's mostly white.


Most Likely to be Found: Miss Pigpen seems to very much enjoy hanging out underneath a set of bushes directly across the courtyard from my apartment. However, she also seems to enjoy a good laze in the sunlight, so you'll occasionally see her spread out on the rocks (and her coloring-- dirt included-- provides excellent camouflage for this) or sometimes just being a kitty-loaf right in the middle of the grass.