This story begins about a year ago when I went to the lake and found a painted message on the side of a derelict building that was once used for boat inspections.
It read... "Do not feed the cats. Building to be demolished."


So I wondered what that was all about and then when I looked beneath the crawl space of the building,
I could see a couple cats hunkered down far underneath seeking protection from the human predator, and it was evident that someone had been feeding them as there was an empty styrofoam plate.
Not wanting to frighten the cats any more, I left but each time I would visit the lake I would see a couple hanging around the building
and was able to get a few shots of a black one and what appeared to be a Siamese.

The demolition date was changed a couple times and then, the next time I returned to the lake, the building was gone and I wondered what happened to the cats.
I was feeling bad.
Should I have tried to capture them and see if they might be adopted but then again, feral cats can be a problem to tame and might just end up being euthanized.

So I was again at the lake just the other day and saw a car pulled up to where the old building used to be and there were a bunch of cats running to the car!
I saw a man with a jug of water and what appeared to be maybe plates of food.
I watched from afar and sure enough, he headed to one of the big trees and put out food and water and the cats were obviously unafraid of him and considered him a friend.
And then I saw him look up into the tree. Were there cats up there too?

This is one of the shots I took that day and of course, I had to go meet the fella.
Evidently he has been doing this every day for a couple years.
Comes out twice a day to check on them and give them food and water.
He says there are somewhere close to 20 cats as people drop cats at the lake and unfortunately, they have also started to breed.
He makes his rounds to all the different areas of the lake to give food and water.

Evidently a rookie cop had told him one day that he couldn't do that... feed the cats.
His response was... What should I do, let them die?
He then said... People come out here to picnic... right? Well, I'm picnicking with the cats.

He does worry what would happen if he were not able to do his daily duties.
And yes, I said I would help and gave him my card.

I do think something will have to happen to find the cats a home if that is even possible or else lace their food with birth control... is that possible?

So I have dubbed this kind soul... Cat Man. He means no harm.

And that brings me to my favorite quote:
"Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace." - Albert Schweitzer