Thank you, everyone, for your good wishes. It's great that a cat who was so severely neglected now has so many people pulling for him.

"Smokey" is now Sazesh. It means someone who adapts to everything life throws at them. I nearly called him Raha, which means free, but Sazesh is easier to say and less likely to cause problems at the vet.

He's eating well, loves wet food, and is very affectionate. That's the good news.

I let him out of his bedroom into the main living area downstairs on Saturday because I thought it would help him exercise his atrophied back leg muscles. He did enjoy it but he moves very fast and his back legs kept coming together so he was dragging them behind him locked together and skewed to one side. It was very sad to see because this is the way he must have moved around until he was rescued. Also, his litter box habits became much, much more random. I was well prepared for mess, going over the side, using newspaper, etc. but Sazesh pees all over. I'm wondering if it was because he wasn't able to urinate easily when his back legs were welded together by matted fur. In a tiny space, like a cage, he uses a litter box mostly. In a bedroom, he uses the litter box rarely, pees on newspaper and over onto the floor. In the large living room he simply stops and pees. It's quite a small puddle, as though his bladder is small or has lost some of its tone.

So, he's back in the bedroom for now because he was causing too much damage. I sit with him as often as I can and he kneeds heavily all the time I fuss him. He doesn't purr at all, just breathes heavily.

He's a very sweet cat and I'm so glad I looked at Petfinder that day. He'll see my vet later this week; it will be good to get a professional opinion. Once I know whether or not it's a good idea for him to be in a large space, I can start saving to put down a large expanse of linoleum. His eyes don't look quite right, either, as though his vision isn't great.