Nightwing

This is Nightwing, one of the few strays that I feed. He's the youngest of the bunch.

At night, his coat glimmers like black velvet, and his mackerel stripes shimmer as he struts in the starlight. He hisses sometimes, but he approaches eagerly everytime I come home. He knows that I am going to get him fresh, cool, clean water and new, delicious cat food in a washed bowl.

He usually hangs out with Storm Shadow, an older cat. But when I returned from the grocery store in the evening, I was surprised to see Nightwing chilling on my porch. He usually only comes around midnight. Even more surprising, he was chilling out with Black Panther, a young all black cat with green eyes just a few months older than Nightwing.

Black Panther belongs to the Vet and his wife. When they were both in the hospital last week, one of the neighbors watched him. Usually, Black Panther likes to climb the oak tree in front and chase squirrels and birds.

But today, he preferred my porch and the company of Nightwing, which is amazing as they usually get into a hissing and yowling match half the time. The other times, I've seen them play. Today is the first time I've seen them just sleeping on my porch with the sun still up for another hour or so. Most unusual, since they only visit at night. Today was the first time that I've seen them together with the sun still up.

Black Panther is camera shy, as he kept moving out of sight whenever I tried to take his picture. I wonder if he's in some kind of witnesses protection program. Or a Most Wanted Poster somewhere. I gave up trying to take his picture and left him and Nightwing to eat an evening snack.

Storm Shadow isn't camera shy. But he only comes out in the dark night, at least for now. So any pictures of him I try to take come out all shadows and fuzzy. But I'll keep trying take photos of him and Black Panther.

In the meantime, I'm just happy to see my cats eat and drink and enjoy the sanctuary of my porch. I smile everytime I see them.

I hope they live long, happy, healthy lives, and I hope there are other kind people looking out for them.

P.S. Yes, that's soapy water on the floor in the picture. I pour a bucket of soapy water on my porch almost daily, to wash and keep away the ants and other critters attracted to the food I place out for the cats. It works, and my porch is spiffy and clean. As an unintended consequence, any few leftover bits of food, just a few morsels in the bowl, are usually all eaten by large black birds. I don't think they're crows, as they seem to have this iridescent purple plumage that glints in the sun. I'll try to photograph them too sometime.

Update 6 September 2018, Thursday:

Before I left for work this morning, I was surprised to find Nightwing and Storm Shadow waiting on my porch. Most unusual, as they usually only visit at night. But I think the predawn thunderstorm may have made them seek shelter and stay warm and dry on my covered porch. Also, they probably guessed that I would feed them if I saw them. They were right. I washed the bowls and replenished the food and water. I washed the porch before setting down the food and water. They ate contently, and I could only snap a few fotos before heading off to work.

When I got back home this evening, they were waiting for me. So I grabbed the bowls, washed them, and washed the porch. But while I was replenishing the cleaned bowls with food and water, I was surprised to find both cats just inside my place, waiting for me at the entrance. This is the first time that they've ever followed me indoors. Usually, they wait out on the porch. But tonight, they followed me just inside the door. They're getting comfortable with me, trusting me more, and that makes me happy.