Food

What our mom fed us: Rodents

If she could catch them.

Don't let your fat face get you killed. Chipmunk.

Tootsie: Mom’s gone, but I got all the chipmunks around here.

squirrels

We are not big enough to catch them yet.

What the humans feed us

toosie eating

We like canned food more than dry food. If they give us the same food a couple of days in a row, we are not happy.

Finicky feral cats. Who knew? They’re probably too well-fed. Their sister Snickers who comes once a day inhales everything.

Snickers devouring her food

dryfood: Evanger's and Wellness core
canned food: Evo 95% Chicken & Turkey and Venison, Wysong Rabbit, Evanger's Cooked Chicken	Evanger’s Cooked Chicken Evo 95% Chicken & Turkey and Venison, Wysong Rabbit Mixed together
Nature's Variety Raw Frozen Diet Chicken Formula	Twinkie Tootsie
Steve's Real Food Frozen Chicken & Salmon	Twinkie Tootsie
Twinkie: I recently developed a taste for pistachios. Shelled pistachios in bird food. She spits out the skin. Our veterinarian’s office told me pistachio is not on the list of food poisonous to cats.

Bed moved

Time to eat. It’s chilly and rainy. We are NOT going out.

Linda’s coming in. She has our food. What is she doing to our bed?!! Danger! Run!

Moving the girls’ bed to a different place in the garage so Carol can park her car inside when it snows. Otherwise, the girls will be evicted and forced into the cat houses.

Kittens' bed is now under a table

Twinkie: Linda ran the dinner bell. I’ll go back in.

Tootsie: I’m hiding under the evergreen. Don’t put food in front of me. I’m not hungry!

They’re freaked out. Maybe seeing the old bed in its original place will calm them down a little. My stomach just tied up in knots.

Twinkie: The bed is in a different place. The old bed and the rug are back again. This is ok.

Tootsie: I don’t like it.

Tootsie inspects new, actually old, sleeping arrangement

Tootsie: I’m too upset to eat. I’m out.

Twinkie: Linda brought me the feather toy. Forget food. Time to play.

OK you got me

Someone’s coming in!

Twinkie: I’m out.

Twinkie contemplates exiting the garage

Twinkie: It’s only Linda. Why is she peaking inside our box?

Tootsie: Hey, stop it with those lights!

Tootsie inside the box

Tootsie: Alright. I sleep in the box with Twinkie. Now you know. Happy?

Tootsie not sleeping outside is confirmed. Happy and relieved.

Snickers

Snickers is back!

Snickers sits by herself

Snickers eats by herself in Linda's yard

Snickers waits for food

Well, sort of. She’s smaller than us now. She comes only for food. She doesn’t eat with us, play with us or nap with us. She looks unhappy.

Tootsie: She hissed at me.

Twinkie: She growled at me! And I was her favorite sister not too long ago. Maybe she’s mad at me for leaving her and mom.

Tootsie: By the way, mom was here a few days ago. Did you see her?

Twinkie: I was napping in the garage. She didn’t say even ‘Hi.’

Tootsie: Maybe she was looking for Snickers.

Bed Outside

The kitten’s bed and rug are being aired out under the sun.

Our bed and rug are outside! Might as well enjoy it.

Tootsie and Twinkie rest on their bed outside

Tootsie on the bed outside

Shelter

Where do we live

Twinkie: I sleep in Carol’s garage on a rug, in a pet carrier cover or inside a big box. I like it here. Safe, dry, very little wind. Linda gave me the box with a large soft bed. I can smell her cats T and D and other cats, but I don’t care. It’s cozy and warm. We startled each other good when she didn’t realize I found my way in there.

Twinkie pops her head out of the box

Tootsie: I’m not telling where I sleep. It’s top secret. Humans can’t bother me if they don’t know. Every time Linda comes in at night, I’m either on my way out or already far gone.

Tootsie considers leaving the garage

Twinkie: When it’s cold, you snuggle with me on the rug or in the box. You scared Carol when you ran out of the box a couple days ago. She didn’t know you went in there.

The Cat Complex

Two cat houses and a feeding station from Feral Villa and some decking material.

Cat complex

We eat and play here when it’s nice out. So many places to pop in and out and play hide and seek.

Twinkie sits on the deck

Tootsie sits on top of the feeding station

Tootsie sunbathes

The girls, Tootsie and Twinkie, stand against cat house

Tootsie plays from cat house entrance

Tootsie upside down under cat house

Tootsie and Twinkie play by cat house

Hello!

Hi

We’re sisters and we’re feral.

Twinkie

Twinkie

I am the boldest and least skittish kitten. Humans say I am a Tortoiseshell or a tortie. Caretaker Carol sometimes calls me “butter toes.” I may not be conventionally pretty, but my confidence makes me beautiful.

Tootsie

Tootsie

I was the shyest kitten. I’m getting more comfortable around people. They call me a calico. They also tell me that I’m very cute. Of course, I don’t often let them see me up close for long.

Caretaker Carol

We mostly hang around Carol’s house. She has a black and white cat named Elvis. We often sit in front of her kitchen door to talk to him. She hasn’t fed us for some time. We don’t know why.

Back surgery.

Caretaker Linda

Linda feeds us twice a day. She comes from another house. She has 2 cats.

Twinkie: She brought them out to meet me then she took them back inside. They let her touch and hold them! One is big. The other one kind of looks like me.

Twinkie meets T

Linda's other cat D - a lighter tortie

Who we are – Quick recap

First time around

First visit from the feral cat family

Mom was having trouble feeding us so she brought us to cat people. We were soooo hungry!

Tootsie: Yeah, I ate half of that paper plate!

Once all of us were full, we left with mom.

A couple weeks later

Mom brought us back

Mom brought us back because we were very hungry again.

From left to right - Tootsie, Twinkie, CC and Snickers

People caught us and did stuff to us. They couldn’t catch mom. After a few days, they let us go.

Feral cat family reunion

Another couple weeks later

We came back again!

They got mom

Mom went away for several days.

Blondie, their mom, went to an animal hospital for 10-day rabies observation because she bit Linda.

Bite and scratch by Blondie

Eleven days later

Mother cat, Blondie, returns

Mom came back! We were happy. We also got to see more of our brother CC. He was looking after us. Then he started roaming all day long.

Two days later. They let mom go.

Tootsie: I followed her.

Twinkie: CC, Snickers and I left a day or so after you left.

Three days later

Tootsie: I ran back in heavy rain and made Linda run around in the rain with food. Carol’s garage seemed so dark and cold without you guys. I couldn’t stay. The next morning Linda gave me food.

Two days later

Twinkie: I left mom and Snickers.

So, here we are.

Twinkie and Tootsie