Stray Cat Shows Up On Porch One Day - And Decides He's Staying

[catbyte]

[Demovictory9]

1. big cat

[Warpy]

9. New England grows 'em that way

because so many of them are Maine Coon crosses. Even if they don't have the long coats or bushy tails, they've got the size and weight.

My own indoor-outdoor cats were being tormented by a tomcat that looked like this guy. Turning the hose on him would result in only a temporary reprieve for my own cats. He was all crosshatched battle scars, patchy coat, frost bitten ears, a tough customer.

One day, I heard a racket out in the yard and saw all the cats, including the ginger tom, had been treed by somebody's large, loose dog. That ginger tom stayed just out of reach and kept hitching around the tree trunk. I wondered what he was up to, so I kept watching.

Well, that dog got into just the right position, the cat jumped on his back and dug his claws in and all I saw was a streak heading down the street, shrieking all the way. I decided that tomcat was my kind of cat.

So I started setting out another dish of food when I fed my cats. Eventually, he tolerated my presence. When I could finally touch his flanks without much objection, I sat on him and got a flea collar on him. Once the external parasites were gone, his fur filled in and covered his scars. I could tell he was feeling a lot better. Then he turned into the biggest teddy bear I have ever known, a huge tomcat who'd put his paws around my neck and hug me back.

I don't know what happened to him, I wish I did. However, it shows that the meanest, toughest street cat has potential, especially once they start to feel better with regular meals and even minimal care.

Oh, and once he started eating with my cats, he left them alone. That's all it took.

[BlueSky3]

12. I love this story!

I am in awe of the ways cats defend others. I saw a video of a cat jumping against the sliding door to frighten off a bear, and I've seen another one where a cat defended a small boy from an attacking dog. I'm so glad this tomcat found a home with you.

[Trueblue1968]

2. lovely boy !!!!

[The Unmitigated Gall]

3. Yeah...they'll do that!

Take the compliment, is my advice.

[Midnight Writer]

4. Yep, got 3 cats that way over the years.

[perfessor]

6. We have too.

But in our neck of the woods, "overnight" ain't happening. It takes about a year to get a feral cat softened up.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

8. Congratulations...

“WE…have elevated YOU, human, to the exalted post of:
OUR CARETAKER. You…are honored. Please do not disappoint us in this matter…”

[Silver Gaia]

5. That's how we got the sweetie sleeping next to me.

😊

[BumRushDaShow]

7. LOL!!! That's a giant cat!

But that is exactly how one of my sisters got her current tuxie. He started "visiting" them last spring and would come up on her porch and around back to her deck to "visit". Since my sis used to have a cat previously (who she had lost a few years ago), she knew the "cat" routine and bought some food and started feeding him. He would come by a couple times each day to just lounge and eat and would leave to go on his usual "patrol of the neighborhood" in between and at night. Eventually (with the permission of her hubby and delight of my nephew who he really took to), she was able to hustle him into a carrier and to a vet, who confirmed him to be a male and who estimated that he was about 1 - 1 1/2 years old. She got him all the shots and chipped, and for the rest of the warm season, let him do "indoor/outdoor" (he would come back and paw at the front door once it got dark). She kept him in during the winter and he got more accustomed to being "indoors". I got chance to kitteh sit him last Thanksgiving and he is just a ham, greeting (scenting) anyone he meets.

[Owl]

16. Pretty kitty!

[catbyte]

17. He's GORGEOUS!

I especially love the tufts between his toes, or as I call them, "litter collectors."

[Skittles]

18. Owl and Catbyte, don't let his pretty boy persona fool you

he is the DEVIL FROM HELL.....very, very badly behaved! But, what can I say, I love him

[catbyte]

20. It's alllllllways the pretty ones, sigh.

[Person of Interest]

11. People don't adopt cats. Cats adopt people.

[pazzyanne]

13. Truth! nt

[Skittles]

19. yes

they choose you and then they work on you..........

[creeksneakers2]

14. Those are the ones God brings.

[keithbvadu2]

15. 'and the livin' is easy'

He knows where life is good.