WESTFORD — If you have spent some time in Forge Village during the warmer months, you may have met two of the village’s resident outdoor cats — Chuck and Rasheed.
Chuck, short for Chuckles the Clown and Rasheed, named after former Celtics player Rasheed Wallace, are two mixed-Maine Coons that spend much of their time soaking up the sun near the Cameron Senior Center during the summer months.
“They are a hit in my neighborhood,” area resident and Town Clerk Patty Dubey told WestfordCAT. “They love being outdoors. They are hunters. I have had things that they have brought for me, like ‘here Pat, have a squirrel.'”
She added, “In the summer I have the slider open to my kitchen so I [sometimes] get live things in my house.”
She says they prefer to spend more time indoors during the cooler months.
“Otherwise, since it’s been cold they’ve been sleeping in my bed. My husband and I have to make room for them,” she said.
Disappearing acts
Dubey says her cats are “filled with personality.”
“They bring a lot of pleasure to folks who go to the senior center,” she said. “If you leave your windows open in the summer, they may hop in. They have disappeared several times.”
Both cats have had their fair share of antics in Westford and surrounding communities, with Rasheed disappearing for over 17 days before later reappearing on a Chelmsford community Facebook page.
“The craziest thing happened — a friend of my daughters saw a posting at a Chelmsford Yard Sale posting asking who the cat was,” she said. “I got a hold of these people, it was him, we went over and got him, and I think how he got there was they got into somebody’s work van and they drove off with him.”
She added, “I once got a call from Countryside Veterinary that told me they have Rasheed because someone was concerned that he was a stray. We got him back then [as well].”
Chuck has seen his fair share of adventures near the Abbot Mill apartments, including several run-ins with law enforcement.
“Animal Control knows him now, since they get calls from folks who think he’s a stray,” she said. “People think he’s a stray and they want to take him in [as well].”
Like royalty
Both at 14 years old, Dubey says both cats “do not stray as far as they used to.”
“They’re older and they’re feeling their age. Believe me, they’re well cared for, they are kings,” she said. “We’ve given them a good life, and they’ve given us a good life.”
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