When Cats Come to Stay

My family loves to kid me that I’m a critter magnet. If there’s one in the neighborhood it’s understandable they’ll show up here. There’s a sign only critters can read that says ‘Linda will keep you safe’.

Barney showed up here that way and we have a lot of cats that enjoy our front courtyard because it’s gated. They know they’re safe, there’s a bench by the front door they can curl up on or a sun dappled concrete walkway. We had several cats hang out in the back yard, but since Barney reminded them it’s his territory, they chose the front.

And along the way one neighbor moved away, abandoning his sweet tabby and another pretty much ignored her black and white kitty by replacing her with another cat. She’s old, but can totally kick kitty butt, and she now resides in our garage where she’s got food, water, and even a chair she enjoys sleeping in or draped along the top.

Tabby has a long tail and now named LT and black and white kitty who’s a talker is Gabby. Even funnier is that Gabby has two homes, as we learned yesterday when talking to a neighbor across the street. Seems she lived there last winter, but now she’s moved in with us, but LT still hangs out over there, but he also comes over here to visit. And since the garage door is up a bit he can sneak in for a snack.

We’re both families who aren’t going to abandon animals just because someone else has. And both have dogs who aren’t fond of cats.

I am a total dog person, but I adore cats for their independent natures and the way they enjoy looking at the world.

Even funnier is that we now have a tortoiseshell kitty hanging out and one morning Barney woke me up as he barked his little head off while bouncing up and down on the bed. Seems the torti had climbed up onto our tile roof and was looking in the window.

So, yes, there’s that invisible to human eyes sign stating ‘you’re safe here’. I don’t remember when the one neighbor got Gabby, so I’m not sure of her age. But it doesn’t matter; she has a home here and across the street.
Linda