June 26 Morning

 There was a storm last night and light rain this morning. I was a bit rushed at morning feeding and didn't do a count, but the regular dailies were all there. Allie and Callie always waiting for me. Thomas trotting up as I put the food out. The 'new girls', Minnie, Sasha, and Sally coming soon after. They all eat at the pole. A couple others more distant, waiting for me to leave.

Fifteen yards away at the spring food bowls, I normally get Fluffy, Tanya, Betty, and Boot. This morning was a bit different. Most of the ferals are non-vocal. Very seldom do I hear a meow or chirp. Today as I was putting the food out at the pole, Tanya was very intently meowing at me. She is a six foot distant cat that will retreat if I advance. There she was, four feet behind me with an alert posture, meowing non-stop. I turned and asked her what the problem was. I advanced a step and she retreated a step, still meowing at me. I gestured to the food at the spring and told her, "It's already there. Go eat." She stopped the meow and went to her food - placed offset from it's normal spot to keep it from the rain. 

Tanya:

Meanwhile Tom (aka Thomas or Big Tom) walked over and laid near my feet. He is the Alpha. He supervises the feeding. Often the first to sample the food while I am still putting it out. One of the few that will let me touch him and the only one that has leaned-in when stroked or scratched behind his ears. Long before I noticed the feral cat population, I knew him as a cat that walked a daily route around the neighborhood. I assumed that he was a neighbor's outdoor cat. He was probably abandoned when someone moved away or died. A neighborhood cat that is known to many, unlike the true ferals who live unseen in the shadows and underbrush.

 Thomas: