“Big Red” was one cat that demonstrated how feral cats can “coexist”.  He was one of the gentlest cats I’d ever encountered even though his size warranted respect.  Through the years, Red made me see the contributions a homeless, feral cat can have on a community.

To begin, I must go back to September 1st, 20016 when I witnessed three beautiful kittens near the parking lot drain.  Judging by their size and the fact that they were together, by themselves, I estimate their ages to be around 2 months old.  They appeared to have a condition called polydactyly which means they have extra toes.  Shortly, the black cat seem to disappear which means that it died or looked for other territory, or became completely feral which means black cats can blend in extremely well and only come out at night.

At first, I took to a kitten I named Patches.  It seemed to always reside near the drain and wait to be fed.  On December 5, 2016, Patches disappeared and I never saw Patches again.  Two of the three kittens had disappeared.

Soon, an energized face starting appearing ensuring that attention was paid to him.  I would sometimes drive through the parking lot to find Red chasing the vehicle.  Eventually, that young kitten turned into a large ginger cat.   His personality captured everyone he came into contact with which gained a lot of fans and a lot of extra food.  It was rare when I didn’t go to feed and someone left food for Red.  He was not the alpha male because that title was given to “Tux”, the parking lot’s alpha male.  In October, 2016, I spayed and neutered several cats in the parking lot and they lost their aggressiveness they once had.  Red never truly exhibited this behavior, he was more playful with everyone even finding kittens in which he’d relax and play with but with Red being the alpha male, Red didn’t have much choice.

Red resided in the parking lot and you never knew what he was doing next but he knew his way around the parking lot.  why my car, and eventually truck, Red would come running even though his proximity was too close sometimes.  Everyone witnessed Red and other people assisted with feeding, some on a regular basis, others when they felt like it.  He was one of those rare feral cats that lounged outside during the day, usually on a hilltop or in the shade of a bush.  Sometimes, this drew criticism.  No matter what time of day, you could always find Red somewhere on the premises.

On one late night in January 2018, Scrappy appeared out of no where to become the new alpha male and shock up the parking lot environment.  Scrappy’s leg was injured as he laid under a vehicle and you could see the aged battle scars of an alpha males.  I gave him some food and would eventually trap him but since he’d been socialized before, he convinced my wife that he shouldn’t be in the trap so against my better judgement, I let him out in my room.  Leaving a window cracked on the second floor, he opened the window and made his way back to the parking lot terrorizing everyone on site.  He’d hide in waiting and ambush anyone who came around.  It disrupted the colony and Red, and the other cats, started exploring different places to go.

During this time, several people were helping me feed with the help of Red’s Ambassadorship.  It was glorious even though Scrappy was terrorizing the area.  Red would still greet me each time of coming ino the parking lot but the years were probably playing their toll on our boy.  He started acting strange toward the last few months of seeing him but I thought it was due to the drastic changes to the routines.

Finally, I saw Red cross one of the busy streets, I’d never seen him cross.  I was always worried about him crossing this street because of the hazards involved and the fact that he’d been on our side of the street for the longest time.  His last days were mostly spent on the other side of the street, hanging out with his alpha male buddy, Tux, and hanging out on top of some pallets.  His last days were not alone as I found several cats missing during that time and wondered what happened because  it occurred while I was trapping myself.  So, this makes me question if someone else was trapping, someone else poisoned them or other similar issues concerning this because I was extremely vigilant of the area.

July 5, 2019, just over 3 1/2 years from seeing his sibling disappear, would be the last time I’d see Big Red and I have not seen him since.  I knew this day would come and it has.  These normally leave a large gap in the area which is hard to replace but soon other cats will begin to move into the area.  Normally, this is hard.  Each year, one cat hurts more than the others and this year marked the year Big Red held that infamous honor.

I still catch myself looking for Big Red and wondering what happened to him.  You wonder if someone had caught him.  Someone captured him and put him at a farm or something but the likelihood of that happening is small.  Their intentions are good but it doesn’t help my situation because I must accept the fact that Big Red will most likely not return and with each hour, day or month that goes by, the likelihood of his return will go the way of Patches, who I haven’t seen since that cold December day in 2016.

As weeks turn into years, the thought of Big Red will haunt my mind as with Patches and the few cats that haunt my conscience and this tribute to Big Red will find joy with you.  As with most ferals, they do not suffer in front of you and through my many years of feeding, it’s rare that I see a cat die unless its traumatic but in the case of Big Red…it’s a tough thought to accept.

Always wonder what I did wrong, you always wonder where he is now or whether he suffered in the end.  As with most feral cats, they hardly suffer in front of you and will usually go off somewhere else to die.  Normally, you’re prepared for these times and have that feeling as they venture into the distance that last time.  Others, you don’t get that opportunity because the last time you see them gave you no sign that it would be the last time you’d see them.

You somehow know that when they leave you, it’ll be for the last time.  It is the unexpected encounters where there’s no sign what-so-ever that you’ll never see them again and you last encounter with them will be the one you’ll cherish the most.  The good thing is that I love playing with photography and Red was my most photogenic cat and I keep a pretty detailed log of my encounters.  One’s that I’ll definitely refer too to remember the days when the three kittens entered into my life.  A time, at the time, in which I met with concern on how I was going to take care of these additional mouths.

As you pass through a parking lot, take a gander at the drains, you may see your “Big Red” but for me, I had my time with the big lug and I hope I made his life a little easier as a homeless, feral cat.  RIP Big Red.