We have a new stray that’s been hanging around for several weeks. Someone has previously TNR’d him. His right ear is tipped. I checked with a nearby neighbor that I’ve gotten friendly with because she’s another crazy cat lady like me. She was trying to tame him, but he resisted her efforts, so she nicknamed him Grumpy.
Grumpy loves our backyard and is almost constantly out there hunting birds. Unfortunately, he’s killed three or four birds. A few days ago, we found small gray quail feathers all over the place. We wouldn’t normally mind him simply hanging around, but we do NOT want him killing the birds we’ve worked so hard to attract to the yard.
Because of this, every time we see him, we walk outside, which makes him run away. We end up doing this many times a day.
I’ve placed a trap away from the house in the direction he often takes when he flees to another neighbor’s back yard. So far, he’s not taking the bait, literally. He probably remembers being trapped previously and wants no part of that again. I’ve taken to leaving food in the bowl near the front of the trap, hoping to eventually convince him it’s safe, then put the food in the back to catch him. My cat lady neighbor will take him back if I can ever catch him.
Grumpy has come up to the glass doors a couple of times to check out Tilly. We’re surprised at how comfortable Obie is with Grumpy’s presence. Obie doesn’t mind him at all and doesn’t react to him being nearby. I suspect Grumpy could be a nice, friendly cat if someone could tame him. But no, it won’t be us. We’re full up.










![Image of Goobie [cat] with her paws stretched well out in front of her while she rests on freshly dried clean clothing.](https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/009/846/135/084/100/small/6c5e9963eaefddcc.png)
![Image of Totoro [kitten] helping with making sure this red shirt was placed onto the hanger correctly.](https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/009/847/460/386/642/small/a6cc083e7ac47568.png)
![Image of Totoro [kitten] verifying the hangars are being used correctly with the t-shirts.](https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/009/850/154/749/227/small/6f92a183a452ce21.png)
![Image of Goobie [cat] & Totoro [kitten] resting together in a basket full of clean clothes.](https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/009/850/792/859/784/small/250a1a20fb544956.png)













