Grays are gorgeous
By Beverly Russell

“Honey Bun,” “Cup Cake,” and “Cream Puff” are just a few of the 14 or 15 stray cats that have found a home in Carol and Adrian Ross’s Los Frailes garden, prancing around among the geranium pots and Mexican sage and loving every minute.

Aside from their delicious names, they have something in common: they are all gray. 

“Be careful what you wish for,” said Carol. “I had a gray cat 40 years ago, and thought I’d love another one. I like the color; it´s unusual in a cat. Then along came Violet: gray, but feral. She came in through the gate and looked so pathetic. When I put my hand down, she came to me.” 

That was the beginning of the great gato adventure. Violet had three kittens. One day she left, but the kittens stayed. With bowls of food and water readily available, the Ross garden became a stopover for strays. “Sometimes I feel as if I’m running a soup kitchen. I really don’t know who lives here and who just eats here. I could write a book about it,” says Carol. “Just watching them is interesting; I’ve learned a lot about cat behavior. But it’s got to stop; we’ve had seven litters in the last 18 months.” 


Carol observes that every litter has a runt and a ringleader. “Each cat is so different; you see it in the litter right away. They all have their own routines.” Cream Puff loves to get under the blanket when Carol is reading. Cup Cake is a lap cat. “They sleep in piles, sometime seven or eight together,” Carol went on, showing me the garden courtyard—where a furry mass of tiny grey kittens dozed in the sun—and the bedrooms, where cats snoozed away on the beds. One mama had her litter under the Ross’s bed, requiring them to move to the guest bedroom until the babies were acclimated.

Sammy was the first feral cat Carol tamed, by petting him while he was eating. He soon got friendly. “But if you want to domesticate a feral cat, you’ve got to catch it at four weeks old,” she says.

The Sociedad Protectora de Animales (SPA) is the place to go if you want a well-adjusted, domesticated cat, and there are plenty of Carol’s favorites, grays, among the current population. The SPA is located at Los Pinos 7, off Calzada de la Estación and is open daily 11am–2pm. All cats are spayed, healthy and ready to take home and cuddle for just 250 pesos (dogs 300 pesos). 


Beverly Russell, author of several books, has written for numerous publications including The New York Times. She recently adopted Felipe, a furry friend, from SPA.