I've been slooooowly working on getting the feral cat population in my neighborhood under control, but there's one particular cat I can't catch. I call her Pretty Lady.
Pretty Lady is a grizzled old street cat who was at some point fixed based on the fact her ear was tipped. She has a bizarre face that I'm not sure if it came from genetics or a current health issue, but her eyes are sort of...tilted? I've tried to get a picture of her to show my coworker who used to be a vet, but have not succeeded.
Anyways. She's grizzled. And old. And has started to look a little rough around the edges, so I've been trying harder to catch her to try and get her some vet care.
Pretty Lady refuses to be caught. She's right there for morning snackies when I bring them out, but attempts to interact beyond food are met with serious hisses. The trap in my yard is a joke to her, no matter what food I put inside. And god forbid any of the other neighborhood cats try to come eat the food I give her. That is Not Allowed.
Except! Except!
Pretty Lady has recently acquired a little himbo boyfriend. The boyfriend, who I have named Target because he is orange and has a perfect circle target pattern in his fur, is a wee baby tomcat who is juuuuuust starting to get his cheeks. I have witnessed Target fall out of my shed more than once (it's a one foot drop for reasons I don't understand given it was custom built), seen him startle at falling leaves MULTIPLE times, and seen him have a full on yowling fight with a stick.
Pretty Lady has taught Target to avoid the trap in my yard, shares her food with him, and makes him stand guard while she eats. Target seems incredibly pleased by this arrangement.
I do hope I can eventually catch them both, or at least Target to get him fixed, but in the meantime I am rather enjoying watching this play out.
