That's right - HE got ME - since I was in no way looking to add a kitty to the clan.
It was 8 years ago today during the President's Day Blizzard of 2003, that I looked out the kitchen window and saw this orange blob trudging thru over 2 feet of snow and making his way toward the house. Took him a while to make the trek, since he was way back at the property line over 300' back, but he finally made it up to the porch. I felt sorry for the poor guy - out in that nasty weather and probably very tired and hungry, so I put some food out for him, thinking he would make his way home when the weather cleared up some. He was definitely someone's pet - very healthy and well feed looking. Well he must have liked the food and the company, because he never left. We tried to find his owner, but no one knew anything, so we now had a very sweet kitty as a member of the family. It was several years later that we learned who the owner was, and that this jerk had thrown Sherbie out, along with other pets, and his wife!
He settled in and made himself right at home, and a year or so later, along comes another orangeman (O.C.-meaning "other cat"). Those 2 fought like they would kill each other, but before long at all, settled in and became best friends - doing everything together - sleeping, playing, going out on adventures - they were inseparable! Unfortunately after a couple of years, we lost O.C. to an injury and the bureaucratic b.s. Animal Control laws of this state. Sherbie was devastated at the loss and we thought we might loose him too - to a broken heart. He eventually bounced back, and claimed Sparky as his new best friend, and to this day, sticks to him like velcro.
We don't know Sherbie's actual age, but it was told to us that he was about 3 or 4 when he was tossed by his previous owner - so he's at least 11 now. He stills resides here as an outdoor cat ( aka:The Stray Who Came To Stay). He is showing signs of his age, but he has an outdoor shelter which he loves, and there's nothing wrong with his appetite - he eats enough for 3 cats, and is quite content with life. I thought I had finally lost him last Fall when he went missing for 10 days, but one morning he showed up, giving me h3ll, and wanting to be fed. I'm pretty certain he got caught somewhere and couldn't get free to get home, since he had lost lots of weight - he was so skinny!!! Every year now I wonder if he will make another anniversary with us, but so far, he continues on and on and on.....
Hopefully he'll be here for a long time to come, and defy all the odds. He seems to have done just that so far, anyway.
So Sherbie - we are all so happy that you picked us for your new family. We all love you - even Sparky does - tho he told me in private that sometimes you are a real PITA and he really would like to be able to "do his business", without you velcro'ed to him!
A couple of pics:
Sherbie sleeping on the job
Sherbie and O.C. sleeping head to head
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