Do you have a cat bed for your strays? Do they have fresh water and food each day? This is our story.

About 9 years ago, we adopted a kitten that had been abandoned in a field. He is a beautiful orange tabby, now weighing in around 18 pounds, whom we named Simba. Even though he loved playing with cat toys when he was young, we decided to create some entertainment for him while he looked out the back window. We installed a bird feeder on the railing of our back deck. Simba could then watch the birds as they came to feed.

It wasn’t long before we saw bird feathers in the yard. This was disturbing. Then we saw a beautiful stray cat on our back deck. She probably has some Siamese in her, but she doesn’t meow much. Since we had never seen her before, we were very surprised to see what was happening on our deck. She occasionally caught a fresh ‘bird’ for dinner! We just wanted to entertain our indoor cat, nothing else. The bird feeder was removed!

A friend suggested that the new stray cat was hungry. That could be the reason she was catching birds. We started to feed Deckster (the name we gave her because she was always on the deck). We purchased new cat food dishes and we put out fresh food and water each day, in clean dishes. We didn’t know how many cats would be enjoying the food, so I decided to clean them thoroughly each day.

It wasn’t long before we had 3 to 4 neighborhood cats coming to visit and eat on a regular basis. We had a black cat that eventually had kittens next door, but brought her kittens to our place when they were ready to be weaned. One of her kittens still comes everyday. We named him Shy-Andy because he doesn’t want us to pet him or get close to him. Of the several cats who have passed by for something to eat, only one became a true pet.

Miss Kitty was a long haired, black and white cat, who loved to be petted. She never wanted to come inside, fortunately, because we didn’t know how our indoor cat would accept a stranger.

One day, Miss Kitty developed ear mites, so we took her to the vet. As I described her temperament, the vet seemed a bit surprised. He said she sounded like she was a neutered male. Sure enough, we were wrong all along. We changed her/his records and named him Mr. Dillon. Eventually we saw him initiating all of the visiting cars or trucks on our street by spraying, and now we very glad he didn’t want to come inside. We already had one, very spoiled, inside male cat that doesn’t spray.

Mr. Dillon would often jump up in my lap on warm summer days when I would sit outside to read. In addition, he would meet us at the front door for a snack, even if we had been gone for just a little while, day or night. He would also come to me while I was weeding the garden. I had to take time to pet Mr. Dillon in between pulling weeds. He became a very special pet and we were very grateful he had come to join our household and to live with us for a while. We never found out where he had come from, we could only speculate.

About 1 1/2 years ago, I notice some strange behavior and realized he was becoming blind. One time, I found him in the street crossing from curb to curb. I called to him. He heard my voice, but he couldn’t detect where I was. He was trying to find me and answered my call by meowing. I picked him up and took him home. I was heart broken. I knew I needed to take him to the vet to find out what was happening.

The vet verified it! He had gone blind. We had had him over 5 years, and I could hardly believe what had happened to our beloved Mr. Dillon. Without putting him through several expensive tests trying to determine why he had gone blind, and maybe not even finding the answer from these tests, or possibly having to give him medication once or twice a day which may or may not have helped to return his eye sight, I had him put to sleep. I was so afraid that he might be hurt from an unknown animal, hit by a car in the street, or by falling off of the second story deck. That would have been more devastating for me to find him injured! By this time he was probably 11-12 years old. This was a very difficult decision. It has been a huge loss for us.

To this day, however, we still care for each of the stray felines that pass our way. They have fresh food and water each day. Fortunately, Deckster is still with us. She hasn’t caught a bird since we removed the bird feeder. She has become a special pet, but not as friendly as Mr. Dillon.

I also have provided 4 cat beds; 2 of them I placed under our front deck, since we have a split entry home, and this protects them from the wind and rain. Two beds I have placed on the back deck under a large sheet of plywood that my husband attached to the railing. This protects them, most of the time, from the elements.

I took large plastic storage bins, turned them on the side, and tucked a round cuddle bed in one of them, and the others I have a nice padded bed. Deckster usually prefers the cuddle bed on the back deck, where we watch for her all the time. We miss her when she decides to visit some other place for a couple of days. I change their linens often so they don’t get too dirty.

We are grateful to have these special feline visitors. They always have seemed to get along. We have really enjoyed watching them come and go, occasionally staying a while when the weather is quite rainy, or watching them stretch out and sun themselves. While they stop by, they always have food and water, and a comfortable bed, if they choose to sleep awhile.

Simba still enjoys watching these stray cats come around. He even watches the birds eat the cat food. He is still entertained by our original plan.

May God bless our furry friends – wherever they are.