Turf Wars: Feline Style

Warning: this post is not about food; it’s about turf wars in Montone. We have a fair number of cats in Montone, and they have pretty well defined territories; but we’ve got a new stud on the block and he’s shaking things up.
To all the part time Montonese dwellers, who keep up on the cat wars, here’s the news, but first a little background. Arturo is the king of our street, via Garibaldi. Nicolino/Romeo (he goes by two names, very cagey fellow) is a young fellow who’s trying to horn in on Arturo’s turf. Then there is “Patches” who really is 3rd fiddle to the big guys. It’s the Sopranos, only the cat version.  And there is even the ‘gumbah’ or girlfriend, who would be Fanny, and she has been seen sneaking out of Arturo’s doorway at odd hours.  She’s also the mother of Arturo’s most recent offspring, so they have some history, if you know what I mean.

Nicolino/Romeo is a stray cat; however there are at least 3 families that feed him, so he’s getting bigger and stronger every day. He’s the cat in the photo, taking a new snooze, clearly the master of his universe.  We’ve taken to feeding Nicolino on our way home from the restaurant, if he’s hungry and in the mood, he comes galloping to us when we whistle.

Yesterday, Nicolino and Arturo had a 3-hour standoff in front of our house. Neither one moved from this position, until Jeff came out with some treats and lured Nicolino away.

So, just to keep everyone up to date: the cats are still howling every night! For a small town, we have more than our fair share of drama!