Rex Trulove
It has been quite a while since I introduced a member of our family. This is an adoptive member of our clan; Baby. He is adoptive because he adopted us.
To wind back the clock a little, we moved into our current home in 2012. At that time, an elderly lady who lived across the street had cats that were strictly indoor cats. In early 2013, the lady passed away. Being cat and dog lovers, we were concerned about the cats but were told that they had been taken care of.
The winter of 2013-2014 was especially snowy and bitter. I noticed cat tracks that led beside our place to the only access point under the house but figured that it was simply stray cats. I wasn’t prone to do anything about it because with 3 feet of snow on the ground and temperatures that were 30 below zero, I didn’t want the strays to go without any shelter at all.
In early 2014, we saw our stray; a big gray tiger-striped cat. I recognized it as one of the cats we’d seen in the window of the house across the street. A formerly strictly house-cat had been turned out to fend for itself. That normally results in the death of the cat and if the other three cats the lady at her home had suffered the same fate, that is likely what happened to them.
After nearly a year, I knew that the cat had gone feral. It is a wonder that it survived that long. However, we started leaving food on the back porch for it. The food was obviously being eaten, too. Yet, every time we saw the cat, it would bolt. (Smart cat!)
In late summer of 2014, we heard a cat wailing. We were in the back yard and started calling “kitty, kitty”. Amazingly, Baby came out from under the house and came up to us for attention. We got him some food, but after a few pets, he was more interested in the attention than the food.
I have no idea what his original name was, but we named him Baby because he was definitely not a baby. (Sort of like calling a very tall or large person “tiny”, as an oxymoron.) He comes to his new name when he’s called and has since that time. He also comes in the house and gets fed with the rest or our cats, morning and night. He prefers to spend most of the time outside and we don’t force the issue, except when the outside conditions are tremendously harsh.
He’s a very loving cat and he is quite large and healthy. He probably weighs around 20 pounds. Baby has survived conditions that would have killed most cats, so even though we didn’t want any more cats, Baby has become an adopted member of the family. He still loves petting, and he’s quite a talker, but he is happy and healthy and he’s made himself an outdoor cat. He now knows he has a family that cares for him.
See, same here. They are super smart. I love all animals, and if they live with me they have to get along. lol. Looks like the same for you.
Well hello sweet Baby. I am happy to hear you found your new forever home and food dispenser. You sure are handsome and big for having fended for yourself for a year. Happily that is over with and now you can relax while still having fun chasing mouses. Sweet dreams pretty Baby…
This morning, he has quite a dialog going with me. He wants me to feed everybody early. I told him he has dry food he can eat until breakfast is made and that I’m not going to make it yet. He’s arguing his case…
How adorable. He blends in well with the blanket. Very pretty markings on Baby. Good for you that he is a mouser. Thanks for sharing him with us.
He’s a beautiful cat. The other cats don’t like him, but they know that he belongs here.
Great story i like cats and dogs but your
Cat with sleeping is cute ??❣️??
I think he looks cute, too. He shares that opinion. 🙂
This mean your family have got another member
Yes, indeed it does.
Wow, that was good of you. He looks healthy and handsome. I wish I had a cat but in the environment I’m leaving, the cat might be as well be dead than alive. Say Hi to Baby.
I’m surprised that he came to us when we called, after being on his own for almost a year. He was wary, but he still came.
Awe, what a great story. Tragic with a very happy ending, he looks like my cat that passed a few years ago.
He is amazingly loving. The other cats don’t like him, partly because he is intimidating, but he loves being petted and he does the who rubbing up against you thing. He is also a tremendous mouser and likes to leave mouse parts on our porch. Yet, he’s never gone after our pet birds. He knows that they belong here and leaves them alone.
Awe, see that shows true love. The rub! Twirling tail around leg.. love that. He is a smart cat. I have always had animals that were not supposed to go together live in harmony. They do seem to know.
Yes. Cats are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for. I’ve read statements from quite a few “cat experts” who’ve said that you can’t have a bird in a house with a cat and that the cat will invariably get to and eat the bird.
I’ve got news for them. We’ve had two or more doves for 14 years, and finches for 6. In that entire time, we’ve had cats. That is plural. We currently have 7 cats in the house, plus Baby, but we’ve had as many as 14 at one point, while we’ve had the birds. Many of the cats have been and are great mousers. They know that the birds are off limits if they are in the house. If the birds are outside, all bets are off, and several times a year, we find nothing but bird feathers out in the yard. The number of feather piles has fallen in the last couple of years, only because Baby is the only cat that routinely goes outside now. HE has made the determination that he’ll no longer be a housecat.