So, if a cat walks into your backyard, eats a can of tuna as if his tail were on fire, then comes up on your porch and hangs out to greet you for breakfast the next day (leftover steak) and then you see a very, very old Lost Cat sign and you call and no one calls you back, how long do you have to wait before you say screw it this cat is staying?
Because even though regular cat food is now being served the cat still stays on the porch only leaving to take his business to the edge of the yard. Also, the cat lets you pull ticks off him and rub his belly. Don’t all these things sound like the cat has decided to stay?
What a sweet face. I think he’s definitely staying. I say go ahead and name him.
My wife once fed a starving kitty such as you describe – just to keep it from dying mostly. Mama cat (likewise a starving stray) abandoned her. My wife fed her several houses away so it she wouldn’t know where the food was coming from. But cats are pretty smart sometimes and figured out what house to hang out in front of – and there she stayed. That was almost ten years ago. She has been with us ever since, and we even paid all the vet and quarantine costs to bring her to Australia.
Cool story Mike.
This is the second time this has happened to me. A white cat decided to invite himself into my apartment one cold Christmas night. The other white cat in residence (serious coincidence) was pissed and stayed that way for the next 10 or so years until the Christmas cat died. The Christmas cat was one of the sweetest cats ever.
By the way, we decided to call this new guy Simon. He has a vet appointment tomorrow and we just blew about a hundred bucks at Pet Smart. I guess he’s staying.
I love the name! It suits him.
We didn’t have much luck with the stray that showed up at our house but I like Mike’s story and I hope it all works out for you guys. I think Simon knew that that you were ready for a new cat after all this time without one. He’s a lucky boy.