I'm a sucker for strays and rescues, always have been. This is just the last ten years. George broke into our garage one winter at -40C (or F if you must!). My wife and I were away, and my daughter fed him ("He looked cold and hungry") He decided to stay.
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The next summer he came home one day saying "Look what I found. Can I keep her?"
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And honest to god, he let her suckle on two bare teats all summer! Her name, of course, is Georgette.
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He taught her everything he knew about trees. This is the first sniff of spring.
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He was an independent cuss and often went walk-about for weeks at a time. Liked his food wherever he found it.
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He finally completely disappeared and would only come to visit periodically in the evening when the BBQ and fire pit were on. We found out the next year that he had moved in with a family two streets over that had younger kids. He was always a sucker for kids and my daughter had left home. They've now moved out of province, so we no longer see him, but remember him fondly.
Daughters! Another -40C (or F if you must!) winter, at Christmas, I had seen a black ball of fluff blowing down the street but had been unable to catch it. Mentioned it to my daughter, who was visiting, and this is what I got for Christmas.
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I was now separated and living on my own. I was spending a lot of time on the road and had a cat sitter who kept their dishes full and their boxes empty, but little else. She never did see him. Georgette adopted him and still cares for him.
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My ex had to get herself a kitten, but then discovered that she was allergic to him. She asked me to take him, but he spent too much time tormenting Georgette (I live three doors down).
She went on an extended vacation and I fed him and let him out in the morning, back in at night. He got lonely. It was a nice summer and I worked at the kitchen table with the door open.
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He moved in, and that was that. Still snaps at Georgette sometimes, but it's just a boredom thing. For the most part, they now get along. All three snuggle down on the bed at night, in the same order every night, but spread out in the summer and tight together in the winter.
He's got a very fine coat and needs daily brushing. If I'm on the road for a week or two, it's game over. He now gets sheared every spring. Here he is in his long-johns.
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God help me, one more and I'll be well on my way to being the town's cat lady.
I have 5. One was intentional, the rest were because we cannot say no to a stray or abandoned cat... It'll be six soon. You are a good person.