Our new addition

Nick and I have had cats since we married – I brought one with me. Over the years we’ve had between one and four cats at the time. Most of the cats we’ve had during these thirty-nine years have been volunteers who just happened by. We’ve long felt that we have the word ‘suckers’ written on our house in cat language.

This is our current cat. We’ve had her about ten years now. She’s a timid thing. She does not like other animals. She won’t stand up for herself, so she usually runs and hides if another cat or dog is around. But way back last December a cat came around and she didn’t run from it. They would just sit a few feet apart and stare at one another.

 

We’d put cat food out for it. I can’t stand to see anything hungry and not help. But this stray didn’t act like a normal stray cat. First off, it didn’t come by every day. In fact, often it would go weeks and weeks without coming by. We felt it probably had several suckers on the line and we were just one of the homes feeding him.

 

But lately he seems determined to stay. So far, I’ve been able to get him his vaccinations and treat him for ear mites. He had scratched large open sores just below his ears and I’ve just about gotten those healed up too. My old boss has agreed to neuter him Saturday, provide I can wrangle him back into the cat carrier.

 

He has lovely blue eyes, so I thought we call him Blue. That didn’t suit Nick. He finally suggested Ballou – you remember Cat Ballou? 

If you don’t look it up, it was my favorite movie as a kid. I saw it eight times in the theater.

 

Here is our newest addition – Ballou. And be sure to check out the raccoon tail.