Darla, the former mouser here, relocated to a more domestic lifestyle in Santa Clara during the unusually stormy weather and flooding last winter. She is getting rather elderly, and has earned a comfortable retirement. Unfortunately though, rodents of all sorts arrived immediately after her retirement.
Mice and rats infested the buildings while gophers and ground squirrels infested exposed ground outside, including the recovery nursery. Rodents of some sort ate the tops off a few of my banana plugs, and chewed the base of my cup of gold vine. Another chewed into a bag of seed for mixed erosion control vegetation, and made a mess of it.
Then, the rodents seemed to leave as suddenly as they arrived. Even tree squirrels became scarce. At about that time, we noticed, on rare occasion, what seemed to be a stray kitty. I thought that the kitty must live nearby, and would eventually return home. It avoided us, but never completely left the area for long.
The kitty appears to be rather grungy because of its color pattern. I recently learned that this particular color pattern is known as tortoiseshell, and that almost all kitties with this tortoiseshell color pattern are female. I hope that she is not offended if my assumption of her gender as female is inaccurate. She is quite small and lean, with a thin tail that is kinked at the end. I intend to get a better picture of her to share with neighbors, just in case someone is missing her.
A bit more than a week ago, this kitty seemed to become a bit more interested in human activity here. For the first time, I offered her a bit of something that she might enjoy. Because there was no kitty food here, I gave her a small can of tuna from the galley. She enjoyed it so much that I got her some real kitty food. She now comes for it to the meeting room daily after the crew leaves. I have been able to get a bit closer to her daily, and petted her briefly for the first time a few days ago. She purrs quite loudly when petted, although she also seemed to be rather nervous. She prefers interaction with Rhody, who now chews her ears. I invited her into the hallway because it gets somewhat cool in the evening, but she does not want to come inside.
Because I believe that her presence here convinced the rodents to relocate, I would prefer her to stay if she has no other home to return to. If she only wants a bit of food from me, this could be a mutually beneficial situation. If so, we should determine what her name is.
Tony Tomeo 
She’s what I think is called dilute tortoiseshell because the coat is rather pale. She’s a beautiful cat and looks like she’s not quite fully grown. I hope she stays around.
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She is quite small, and seems to be frail, but I do not know much about kitties. I believe that I saw her around months ago, so I do not think that she is a young kitten. I saw her so rarely that I assumed that she came down from the neighborhood, but was not actually living here. Now I know that others have been seeing here also, and that she is likely here more than I had been aware of. I want to inquire with neighbors.
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She’s a beauty. I’ve got my first cat – two years now. Always had dogs and usually more than one and I miss having dogs. Cats are different, but I wish I could’ve had one sooner. Good idea to check with neighbors. IF she’s feral she should be trapped and spayed then released. Not having a home is hard on feral animals.
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Since posting this, she very suddenly became less feral, and is quite comfortable coming into the meeting room with the crew to be petted. I am told that a feral kitty would not do that. I will take here to the veterinary clinic on Monday to determine if she has a chip, and if she needs to be spayed. I suspect that she was dumped in the yard here or in the forest across the road, so, even if not completely feral, may not have been spayed.
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Sounds like she was dumped. Thank you for caring about her.
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She did not give me much choice. She scared off the rodents when they became a problem. I do not want the rodents to return. Besides, she seems to be satisfied with here situation here, even though she is just settling in.
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What a pretty thing. That’s exactly how I got my beloved Dixie Rose; she just showed up, and once the tuna and milk had been offered, she stayed. We were together for 18 years! Cats who ‘just show up’ and form bonds with those who care for them are the most loyal and loving in the world. Lucky you!
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Well, yes, and we are certainly pleased that she is here; but I still want to confirm that no one is missing here. I suspect that she was dumped here months ago, but I do not know for certain.
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