Phantom's a mystery

I'm seeing the Phantom (slightly) more often now that he knows where the regular food supply is (he shows up at the main dish but hangs back in the warehouse with Billie Jean). But I think I'm losing my mind; sometimes I peek under the barricade and I swear he's already eartipped! But then I see him another time and he's not. Well, looking under the door puts me at a weird angle, and looking from outdoor light into a dark interior; who knows? All I can say for sure is that I haven't TNR'd any cat of that color at this colony; he's virtually the same color as Yellow Fellow and probably related, but I'm sure I'm not confusing the two; YF is slightly yellower and he hangs out at the remote dish nowadays. We shall see...
Meanwhile, the Black's foot seems to be getting better; he's definitely touching it down when he walks and he still lets me handle it a bit. Claws are still intact and workable, but the puffiness misaligns the toes just a bit, so he looks like a cheaply made stuffed toy. It's not hot or damaged, just tender, so maybe he can get past this without a vet visit.

Dancing in the dark

Got a surprise today! As I've mentioned, it's dark when I go out to feed the kids. Today I was at the remote dish, pouring out kibble, and reached over to pet Yellow Fellow, who's the only touchable at that dish. I was still pouring, so I only absently noticed that his coat felt a little harsher than normal. Put the bag down and got out my pocket flash, and lo-and-behold, YF had stepped aside and I was petting FLAME! I couldn't believe it; she's normally one of the skitteriest of the lot. Either she's figured out I'm not a threat, or she was just too hungry to care, because she didn't even bother to shrug me off, let alone run. I treasured the moment but won't be doing it again; it's unethical to teach touchability to colony members; they need to "stay wild" for their own safety. But this is an added incentive to change the feeding time; I apparently need to better see what I'm doing, and as winter comes on I want to feed them closer to night time when they'll really need the calories. Won't be easy; cats hate change, especially regarding mealtimes, but they'll make it. I'm forever sweeping up leftover lunch tidbits that some of the employees leave for them; it's nice that they think of the cats but sometimes the food is less than appropriate; mac-n-cheese, potato chips, etc. No doubt the cats eat whatever of it they fancy, but I feel it necessary to dispose of leftovers lest they attract ants or otherwise create a nuisance and blow our cover. I've started keeping a small broom-and-dustpan set in the car; when I find food lying about I make sure everyone's finished with it and pick it up for disposal later. Usually I throw it into the woods not far from my house; I know some critters will make use of it.
Meanwhile, I'm troubled about the Black; he's holding that hind foot up lately and it's pretty puffy. He did let me touch it briefly after he'd eaten; I eased each claw out with a fingernail, so there's no apparent damage to the claws or sheaths. Still no visible trauma to the pads or the fur; I'm still leaning toward an insect sting of some sort. I must face the possibility that I'll have to trap him again and whipsaw the vet into seeing him. In the meantime, I'm somewhat interested in seeing how this impediment affects the sociodynamics of the colony; the Black is the (virtually) undisputed Head Cat in the normal course of events, but naturally he won't be swaggering around picking fights with that bad foot. I'll be interested to see if his position in the hierarchy changes, before it heals or I have to pull him for treatment.

Dramatis Purrsonae: The Phantom

No picture yet; there's a reason I call her the Phantom. She rarely appears, and only fleetingly then. But I can say she looks very much like Yellow Fellow and is probably related to him (truthfully, I don't know if she's a girl or a boy). She's fooled me a couple of times; I would see what I thought was YF peeking out from under the car but acting so shy and spooky I wondered what was the matter with "him". One of the few advantages to having two feeding stations is that now I have seen there are indeed two of the buff-colored cats, not one, and Yellow isn't losing his marbles or going schizo. Nevertheless, time to dust off a trap and grab her so we can keep the colony at zero population growth. I don't know where she came from, but I surmise there's another few cats living in the area behind this place, and they come and go through the fence.
Meanwhile, the Black is favoring a hind foot. He let me touch it briefly last Sunday; there was blood on one toe but no visible trauma and he was just stepping off of it a bit. Now he's carrying it, and it's puffed up pretty good. He still lets me handle it a bit if I wait till he's eaten some; I eased each claw out with a fingernail and they're all working, bones are intact and I see no wounds on the pads. First hypothesis is a puncture between the pads where it isn't visible, or possibly an insect bite/sting, though I don't know of one that could draw blood. The paw is not noticeably warm, nor are his ears, so if it got infected, he's fought it off.