Cinnamon, the small, feral, long haired, ginger cat, who was at least 25 years old, passed away last week. He came to us many winters ago after wandering down the road to our garden; maybe to keep company with our own feral cat Malachy.
Cinnamon lived his whole life outdoors, never venturing inside to sit on a lap or to be stroked and held or to feel the warmth of a human being.
Cinnamon was originally part of a group feral cats looked after by a lady on Ecclestone Road many years ago. When she passed away, Coast Animal Welfare & Education Society (CAWES) took over the care of the cats, about 19 of them. Angie McCulloch provided a shed and CAWES fed and cared for the cats. Many years passed and the cats slowly died until just a few remained. Maybe Cinnamon got lonely for company and decided ours was a good place to retire to. Who knows, maybe Malachy and Cinnamon spoke the same language. They were both males but never fought, they just hung out with one another.
In the summer Cinnamon liked nothing better than to curl up on our deck, or climb up onto one of the cushions and lay in the sun with Malachy who, though feral, is somewhat tamer and does live in the house.
Cinnamon was always very careful not to get within hands reach of humans. After a while with us, he did, every now and then, let me stroke the tip of his nose but that was the limit. Once in a while Cinnamon did venture into the kitchen but only if the door was left wide open.
Once Cinnamon arrived to us he never left. In the winters we made him a cozy bed on our covered porch, it was out of the wind and he had his own heating pad. Rain or shine, snow or frost, he curled up there and seemed very content in his retirement. We will miss him.
