The Prodigal Son: Continued

Remember this? I suppose I should finish the story of Willie Lunchmeat. This is our boy. He came to live with us this past 4th of July. We were celebrating at the Christiansen's house and they introduced us to "Orange", a stray kitty that had started to overstay his welcome after three weeks of annoying their kitties and driving their dog Maisie nuts. Dan decided we needed an outdoor mouser kitty and... ...Willie moved in with us that night. We weren't sure if he would stay around, but he did. I put a blanket on a chair for him and kept his food and water bowls full and he seemed pretty happy. By the way, that is Willie's drug of choice there: Cat Mint. Anywayyyy, our boy stayed around for 2 1/2 weeks and then he was gone. I wasn't totally surprised, only because he seemed to be somewhat of a free spirit, coming and going as he pleased, keeping his own hours. We were all very sad he was gone and not a day went by that we didn't look for him and call him to see if he'd come home. We figured he'd run into bad luck with a coyote or something along those lines. About 10 days went by... ...and then he just walked up the back steps onto the deck. He was home. But he was thin as a rail. Ratty. Starving. He pretty much looked like death warmed over. You could feel his skeleton right through his skin. Our poor boy was so sick and I wasn't sure he was going to be okay. The time he was gone also happened to be during the heat wave we had here. We'll always wonder where he was while he was gone and why he obviously wasn't eating. There are some vacant homes for sale in the neighborhood and we think maybe he got trapped inside a garage or home when it was being shown and couldn't get out. Poor boy. After coming home, Willie ate and slept and snuggled with us every chance he got and he's become a healthy boy again. It only takes a few scratches behind the ears and he starts purring and kneading his big paws. So, we now have our inside princess (Molly) and our outdoor boy. They have "conversations" at the screen, but they aren't allowed to hang out together because Willie can't spend much time inside since he clearly was never introduced to a litter box (I tried...he freaks!) and Molly isn't allowed outside. So that's that. It's kind of funny though that they look so similar...almost like brother and sister. He seems to only be able to handle being inside for maybe an hour at the most (he likes to watch TV with us on the couch) before he gets restless and has to head back out to his stomping grounds. This one though...she's quite comfortable anywhere in the house. Exhibit A: Within a minute of my starting to set the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Not exactly the centerpiece I had in mind! Exhibit B: I set this wreath on the kitchen counter and within a minute, she was investigating and ended up camping out there for awhile. So while Molly likes to act like she doesn't care about Willie, her actions show otherwise. (Don't you just love the elusive "kitty tongue shot?") Here she is watching him sleep through the glass. That's his Winter hut. I know he's an outdoor kitty and it's obvious he's survived living outside in the elements in the past. I don't care...he needs a nice, warm, insulated little hut if he's going to live here! And he loves it. I lined it with eggcrate and a pillow and put some blankets and a down comforter in there. He burrows in spends a lot of his time in it. And on it! He's a good boy. And look at how he's filled out! No more skinny boy. We're getting him fattened up for the winter. Like I said, he loves to come in for a little while every night and spend quality time with the family. But then he heads out to his hut when he really wants to get comfy. And that is the story to date of our Willie Lunchmeat.