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.