The cat I named Murphy has been showing up in my backyard for several weeks now. I do not know if it is a male or a female and it may never let me get close enough to find out. If I had to guess, I'd guess female and it doesn't have the little ear notch that indicates the cat has undergone a Bob Barker-approved spaying or neutering. I do not want to go through what I went through when Lydia — a longtime resident of said yard — got seriously preggo. You can read about that little adventure here. And yes, we're approaching the twelfth anniversary of that and Lydia is still happily hanging out on my premises and being well-fed by me.
For the sake of pronoun neutrality, we'll refer to Murphy as an "it." It's out there a few hours per day, usually howling for no visible reason. It does not seem to be in need of mating or food, which are the two major reasons cats howl. Come to think of it, they're the two major reasons I howl, too. It's so scared of humans, I don't think it craves attention. It kind of wants to be Lydia's friend but it howls when Lydia is in the yard and it howls when she isn't.
I don't know if anyone claims Murphy as "theirs" the way I've assumed the responsibility of keeping Lydia in Friskies but Murphy is not here enough to only be getting food here so it must have a reliable source elsewhere. Lydia is not in my yard quite as much as she used to be and when neither is present, I wonder if Murphy hasn't invited her over to dine wherever else Murphy dines.
When they're both there, they usually aren't close. Lydia is usually in her little house. Murphy might be near it or Murphy might be on the other side of the yard. They're clearly aware of each other but not any sort of "item."
If I put out food for Lydia when Murphy is present, Murphy makes no attempt to get any of it. I've had feral cats out there shove one another aside to get at the Mixed Grill. Not Murphy.
Lydia usually leaves food in her dish. She eats a third of what I put out, goes back to her house or off to wash herself, then comes back ten or twenty minutes later to eat another third, then comes back later to clean the plate of what's left. Murphy watches patiently and waits until it can't see me inside and Lydia has at least momentarily abandoned her meal…then with no objection from Lydia, Murphy sneaks up and eats just a little of it. Like I said, Murphy never seems to be that hungry.
Murphy also never seems dirty. Lydia spends most of her "awake time" cleaning herself and often, she clearly needs it as much as you would if you liked to sometimes nap on dirt. Murphy always looks like he/she/it just came from the groomers and I've never seen it lick itself.
I don't know all my neighbors but the ones I asked before going into isolation did not recognize Murphy from my description or even from a photo on my cellphone. Murphy is about the tenth feral cat over the years to routinely stop off in my yard and partake of the buffet. I had a good idea where the others came from — Lydia, before she settled in here used to cross a busy street to get to my place — and where they went and I also knew all of their genders. Most of all, when they meowed — which none did anywhere near as relentlessly as Murphy — it was obvious why.
So I don't know where Murphy came from or where Murphy goes or who else feeds Murphy and I don't know why Murphy cries so much or even whether Murphy is a male or a female. All I know is Murphy is here and loud and absolutely terrified of me. Let's see where this leads.