4 out of 5 feral

4 out of 5 feral cats agree: Iams Original Premium Cat Food tastes better than Albertsons Generic "For All Cats" cat food.

If you are someone who hates it when people talk about their cats, I suggest you just skip this one. Try This.

We have cats. A lot of cats. Yes, cliche - lesbians with cats, but what can you do. We have four that I consider us to be "medically responsible for." Only those four have been allowed into the house. Only one of the four is from the original San Francisco batch that came down here with us. The other three we took in as kittens - another story for another day. We also have a feral colony of about 26 cats that came as a package deal with the house we bought, with the neighborhood actually. The colony, which has several sub-communities, is fascinating. I feel like Dian Fossey ... studying their social structure and habits. We started feeding them last year because I am a big softy and they looked at me in that "Can't you see I'm starving?" kinda way and besides, three other people in the 'hood feed them, so it's not like they eat birds all the time or anything (we call that "rationalisation.")

Unlike the rest of our neighbors however, we also participate in the local SPCA's Trap, Alter, Return Feral program. We set traps, get the deed done and release them. Unfortunately, we haven't trapped all of them and the cycle of life continues. There is a new litter somewhere in our back yard. I can't get too close because the Mother (a.k.a. Inky The Kitten Factory) leaps out at us to protect them. I think soon they will appear and I will wrestle with the guilt when their mother brings them directly to our back door feeding station rather than teaching them to hunt. On the other hand, if we attempt to socialize them, perhaps we can find homes for them and save them the hardships of living the feral life. I'll keep you posted.