The Cat

I am always talking about my dog but I do also have a cat. He adopted me a few years ago. I figured out who his real owners were when I happened to pass a garage sale a short distance from my house and the lady was selling all of her cat paraphernalia. She said her cat disappeared. I mentioned that her run-away might be hanging around my place. After I described him, she said it sounded like him. But that didn't dissuade her from continuing to sell the cat's possessions.

I still wasn't willing to take on the responsibility of a pet (I didn't have my dog at the time) so although I did finally put water out for him - and some food - and a blanket for the cold weather, I didn't consider him my cat. I called him "sweetie" because I wasn't naming a cat that wasn't mine. And he was not coming in my house.

He had been hanging around for a year or so when I was getting ready to move. I tossed and turned many nights over what to do with that cat. What should I do when I move? Should I try to take him back to his original owner (who now owned no cat supplies)? Should I try to take him with me? What if I take him with me and he runs away trying to get back to the old house and gets hit by a car (OK, I'm a bit of a worrier with a touch of drama)

I finally decided that I would take him to my new house. I researched the best way to do it and reluctantly went with the "keep the cat in the house for a couple of days after you move so it can get acclimated to his new home". By then I also had a dog.

The cat came to the new house (too late I learned that riding in a car makes him sick). He moved in for a couple of days and never really moved out. He does go in and out as he pleases - through the doggie door. When he is out, he has taken over the doghouse. He is loving attention and his favorite thing is getting rolled with the lint brush. (Why waste time cleaning hair off of furniture when you can just roll it directly off of the animals?) He continues to not have a name because he's not my cat - so I still just call him Sweetie.