Patrick is a poseur cat

Patrick is a handsome black and white cat who has been living at the sanctuary for several years.   Where did he come from?   Nobody knows.   This boycat suddenly appeared, he was wild at first  and we couldn’t get near him.   There was no chance of putting this fella into a pen and picking him up for a cuddle.   He stayed around though and made himself at home, going in to the kitchen for biscuits and and eventually having a snooze curled up in a cat bed.    He seems to be still a young cat, although he is very laid back, he is agile and deceptively innocent – this cat is the best mouser ever!    He’s like a basking shark, lying around all day, posing for photographs, showing off his best side and his nice long whiskers – then the next moment he’s off on the chase.  Mice and rats beware, Patrick has an enviable success rate and completely dispels the myth that male cats are couch potatoes.   If the rodents decide to venture in to any of the outbuildings, Patrick will clear them off with skill and cunning.    All cats are different and Patrick is an exception to almost every rule.   No fuss or frolics from this serious thinker – his is a silent unfussy nature with not a meow so far.   While he has no particular friends and doesn’t seem to pad round with us like many of the others in our extensive cat community, wherever we are, he suddenly appears – and always he is posing.   One of his favourite spots is balancing on the gate post next to the cattery – or he’ll place himself by an attractive fern or sit by a clump of lavender, this cat is so stylish and suave, he’s almost unreal!     Because he seems to get some of his diet from his hunting skills, he isn’t so bothered about the food we put out – pouches are for sissies!   He’s deferential to the the lady cats, they can go first but he is alpha male and don’t let the other boys forget it.

Patrick has been neutered but  still has dominant traits, when he turns his yellow eyed gaze to one of the other males, they usually back off although I’ve never seen him make an aggressive move – the pause, the turn of the head, the stare and that is enough.     The years, and cans of sardines and slices of fresh meat, have undoubtedly mellowed him and I can pick him up now.   He usually says ‘put  me down please’ after a moment or two though.    I don’t know where he sleeps at night, even in the last extremely cold winter, he didn’t want to come in.   The heated pads hold no allure for this Ray Mears of the feline world and his wild life keeps him in good shape.   There are plenty of sheds and barns and stables that he can get in to and I’m sure this ‘pretend wild cat’ will have a den somewhere, he just doesn’t want anyone to know where it is.