It's been SUCH a journey of the heart to love this ragged old wild boy back to health and to a place of trust.
It took almost 9 months for this starving, wild black stray cat with the festering wound on his leg and the broken teeth from being kicked to be brave enough to trust me to be able to come into the kitchen for food.
Slowly, slowly he let me sit by him. And then pet him. And finally hold him.
And then we moved house and he came with us. He did what we'd never expected in a million years: he became a settled, comfortable, cuddly house cat. For 11 months now he sat on the mat like he owned it, he's been at the front gate when it gets to be late afternoon, he has always come when he's called and could be seen patrolling the perimeter of our garden almost hourly. He stayed in at night with our other two, and they all got along. He learned to wear a collar. And very, very recently. he STUNNED us by starting to pee neatly in the toilet!
I like to think of him as rakishly handsome despite the grey hairs, broken teeth and often having some of his battle scars showing.
And then suddenly, a couple of weeks ago, he didn't come home. We called and walked and called and looked, but no sign of him. Gutted, worried and heartbroken.
Until 3 days later he calmly wandered in mid-morning with an air of nonchalance. He wasn't injured or obviously afraid/stressed, but came in and demolished a big bowl of food. And then spent the rest of the morning grooming and lounging out front in the sun.
But that night he didn't come home again. And he hasn't been back since. 10 days now.
We're really hoping he's off in the jungle nearby playing house with a local lady cat. He's never been neutered and as he's an old cat, with SERIOUS fear of people in general, strange noises and men's feet in particular, we'd been waiting a bit to make sure he's really healthy and calm and settled before we traumatize him with his first very vet visit. We're HOPING he's busy being an attentive daddy and that he'll be back.
But I worry. And I miss the way he drools when he's contented. And his pirate-style crooked front fang.
I'm sending my Kitty Mama love & vibes out to MD, wherever he is, and silently calling him home. I'm wryly observing that I've been in relationships with men who've also gone MIA and incommunicado for weeks and months too 😆, and that I do seem to prefer my boys on the wild and free side. 😉
Hoping to see him back on his front mat soon... safe and well.
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