Boo-Kitty Radley

Well... of course we do not need another cat. We have one inside cat (Sweet Pea) and one outside cat (Mickey), plus our dog Savannah. (Mickey's outside status consists of him being allowed in the yard on perfectly sunny and warm days, but confined to the garage and the fenced-in coop every night and when the day-time weather isn't kitty-approved.)

Last week, two cats showed up out in the backyard... both male tabbies, one with distinct markings like Sweet Pea, and the other a mottled gray with less vibrant markings.  The mottled gray one is the friendliest, following me up the porch steps and letting me pet him and pick him up. Both of the cats are making friends with Mickey through the fenced-in wall of the coop, and Sweet Pea sits on the kitchen windowsill to stare at the mottled gray cat as he munches on a bowl of Meow Mix.

Clearly, the mottled gray cat wants a home.... he comes into the yard meowing, he walks around the porch meowing, and he purrs lightly when I pet him or pick him up. Neither one of those cats are feral, and we don't know if they belong to anyone around here.  They could be someone's barn cats, roaming around during the night to find mice, lizards, or a stray bowl of cat food. Typically, people up here do have barn cats, but they don't feed them too much food because they want them to keep hunting for mice. I hate that idea, and don't agree with that country-way of cat-keeping.

The mottled gray cat has a strange meow.... it sounds like boo-ow, rather than me-ow.... hence the name Boo Radley, or Boo-Kitty Radley. The cat reminds me of Harper Lee's Boo Radley.... pale and gray and just worn-out-to-the-bone in color.  But as I said, we do not need another cat. I will, however, continue to put Meow Mix on the porch for those cats if they keep coming around. I never see them during the day, only after dark. And they haven't come around when it's been pouring rain outside. For all I know, they could have taken up residence in our own barn, and coming here to the house after dark for a meal. I've looked in our barn for them during the day, but they don't come out when I call to them.

We'll see how it goes. For now, Boo-Kitty Radley has just eaten his night-time meal... I've petted him and picked him up (as the other stray cat watched from a distance)... and we'll see what happens. Stray cats seem to come and go out here, with very few of them staying in any one place for any length of time. Exceptions to that rule have been our cat Gatsby (we had him for 7 years) and Sweet Pea (we've had him since 2010).

Cats. They always find me. No matter where we live.