Thread: John Doe
View Single Post
  #16  
Old August 3rd 17, 11:43 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Peter W.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 22
Default John Doe

The point of the exercise is to question your behavior if you were to encounter a true feral cat - and known to be such. But, nonetheless a cat.

Up near our summer house (north-central PA) we are adjacent to a fairly large state game land. There are several walking trails, and during the non-hunting months, we sometimes take the dogs on long rambles on early mornings as we see the most then. One day, we came heard some meowing and thought we came across a lost kitten, or several. Not even a little bit. We walked around for an hour looking, with the dogs on their leashes (they love cats, by the way) That was about eight years ago. Today, there are still cats up there, but we have yet to actually lay eyes on one - but for one fleeting view, that first time. These last couple of years we have stopped these walks during the summer as the deer population has exploded, along with the associated ticks.

This is what I mean by a true feral. These are not, nor will they ever be cute little housepets, and to force them into permanent kittenhood does them no favors. Alley cats, strays, lost cats, all these are fair game for 'rescue', and I have done my share of that. But after perhaps 3 or 4 generations with no human contact, any cat of that nature has no need for humans. We do not have wild domestic cat analogs in North America, so there is no direct comparison. But, by the he same token, would you attempt to domesticate a lynx?

We spent several years living and working in the Middle East, and learned a great deal about cultures and attitudes in the area. And we did venture out into the countryside more than most Westerners, and so experienced some interesting encounters. We learned to drink cardamom coffee in vast quantities, to always carry honey or sugar - just two small things of many.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA