Meet the Chinnies

This is Chinnie. He's top cat at the Chinnie community. Here he honors Beth by allowing her to rub his butt.

Beth's wisdom: "We have one thing in common with people who hate cats. We both want to reduce the population of wild ones."

Because of TNR practices, the Chinnie clan has been stable for several years now. There are about 28 of them. All are neutered and have had shots.

It's hard for me to understand that there are people who hate cats, but... oh well.

So I can't tell you where they live. I'm sure everyone reading this blog will understand why. But for two hours on a cool Friday evening I watched beautiful, healthy cats romp through tall grass.

"They really love the cool air." Beth said as we entered the area. I saw only white and grey blurs darting around.

When caretaker Olga arrives, everyone scampers up to great her. She calls to them by name as she sets down food.

I don't think the cats are truly hungry. They are mainly glad to see her. She and Beth discuss who's here and who's temporarily AWOL. We all share our love of felines and the severe distress it causes us to see cats in distress. That it seems is our common thread. It's probably all animals. I don't see anyone involved with cats at this level walking away from a puppy, ferret, parakeet... anything that needs help. Oh, yeah, people too.

I'll never forget the horrible desparate feeling I had when I had starving cats prowling my parking lot. The Cat House helped me as much as the cats by coming to my rescue when Dennis responded to my desparate email pleading for help and guidance.

The beloved Fluffy.

Beth and Chinnie.

Click to enlarge this photo to see toys hanging from strings. Straw bales are used to create shelter for the cats. They are always needed, particularly now that it's time to prepare for winter.

"Don't mind if I do."

No one seemed to notice that one of us wasn't actually a cat. You'd think picking up food with your hands would be a dead giveaway.

Seriously, this is why you don't leave the food overnight. Otherwise the racoons would be as fat as that possum I inadvertenly trapped on that fateful night now known as the "Night of the Possum."

This guy reminded me of Spook, who remains unaccounted for.

Notice the flat ear. When the Cat House traps a feral , in addition to neutering and shots, they snip the tip of the ear to indicate the cat is one of theirs.

I think this is Baby. Click to enlarge to see beautiful blue eyes.

Many thanks to Beth, Olga and, of course, the cool cats of Chinnies' realm for letting me visit and snap some pics.

I got so much material for thought, I'll be writing about it for a while, so you can expect more posting in the upcoming days.

And as always, my heart-felt thanks to the Cat House for existing.