I came down to get my scooter to go shopping, and caught the little tykes in the act. The cats that have been using my scooter’s seat as a bed/toilet were sitting right there. The tabby was on my seat, and the black one was on the next scooter over. I shooed them away and rode off to go shopping, and when I came back, they were both on the neighboring bike–and stayed there while I got my camera and came back to shoot them, photographically speaking.

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In fact, a cat that’s probably their momma even dropped by–she’s usually absent. But it’s raining tonight, and the cats look for shelter.

To guard against the seat-sitting, I’ve taken a few measures. First, I bring my full-face helmet inside with me every day–if I don’t, the tabby will sleep in it, leaving it full of cat hair and what was probably cat slobber, inside the helmet where my head is supposed to snugly fit. Eww. Second, I drape a towel over my seat, and splash water all over it. This keeps the cats off overnight, though if left for any longer, it’ll dry off–like it had by tonight, when the tabby used it as a sleeping mat; I hadn’t used the bike for two days. But that’s OK–as a secondary protection, the towel at least keeps the paw prints, hair, and pee off the bike seat itself.

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I’m pretty sure by now that they’re strays. If they’re owned by anyone, that someone would hardly ever have them in their apartment. Possible–people can be that irresponsible, having temporary pets and then inflicting the hassle on the whole neighborhood–but I just get the impression that these are noraneko.