The Tybee Cats

February 4th, 2016

We were forewarned that there are a multitude of feral cats dwelling on Tybee.  Several hang out at River's End and it makes me feel sad that they have no lap to snuggle into as they truly are wild.  When Doug and Kelly and I sit out at night around the campfire, we can tell by the motion detector light at the nearby dumpster that the cats are on the prowl for food.  

Zuma and Phoebe watch over there and know when the lights come on the cats are about.  Both dogs are on leashes of course.

Two mornings ago the dumpster was emptied and that night the two frequent visitors were scrounging for food.  Knowing there was nothing to be had, I went to the enclosed dumpster area to drop off some meals for the two frequent visiting felines.  WHOA! Surprise! A wild-eyed furry orange rocket shot out of the dumpster and smoked by me as if propelled by a cannon.  At about the same speed, I jumped backwards!  After my heart rate went down and I dropped off cat food, we all sat back to watch if the feral felines would have a meal on us.  They did.  The best part was seeing them emerge from the trash room and line up under the light, licking their paws and preening themselves happily.  If only we could coax them close and find them homes.  The staff and permanent residents here say they are too wild to catch and only a few have been tamed by people in the campground who live here year round.

A staff member informed me that the catchable cats are rounded up once a year, spayed, neutered and vaccinated, then released back here.  Cat.Rodeo.

Last night a very young ginger kitten (3 - 4 months?) emerged from the shrubbery and Kelly was able to entice it to her site with a can of tuna.  It was friendly and almost came nose to nose with Zuma who is fascinated by anything tiny.  Then the kitten gobbled up the small can of fish and perched near Kelly's for a while.  Perhaps this will be one we can "tame".  

Around dinner time last night Kelly stopped by and told us a tornado had touched down on the other side of Savannah and we were being issued tornado warnings on the news; we turned on the tv and listened to repeated announcements of "Tornado Warning In Our Area".  By 6:30 p.m. the tornado threat had calmed down and so had the tv; we had rain all last night and all day today.  Timely, I guess, as it was effective in getting both Doug and I back to work!