This is Bootsie, a male cat who is unbearably sweet and friendly – and hungry. He stops by our house at least once a day for a bie to eat, some pets, some loving words. I don’t know who he belongs to, but he’s so comfortable around people that I’m sure he was once a pet. Or perhaps still is, but if that’s the case, his owners don’t deserve him. He’s out in the rain, in the heat, at night, and he’s thin.
Our cats have been outside with him during the day, but no squabbles break out. They just kind of sit around as if waiting for someone to make a move.
Recently, we went to Georgia to visit my sister and her family and I hired a woman to come in once a day and feed our cats and love on them, if she could find them. Roxane came over for meet and greet before we left but she never saw our cats. I sent her pictures of Beo and Nala.
On the 3rd day of our trip, I was monitoring our indoor security camera and saw a black cat hanging out in the living room. At first, I thought it was our black cat, Nala.
But she has a short tail and this cat’s tail was long. She doesn’t have white paws, but this cat does. I realized it was Bootsie, who had somehow gotten into the house. I called Roxane, but didn’t reach her, so I called our neighbor Annette and asked her to go over to the house to check. She thought I was nuts, but was kind of enough to go over to the house. Sure enough, she found Bootsie on Nigel’s bed in our bedroom. She took him outside.
Roxane called me a while later. Her cell had died after she’d left our house that day. A black cat she thought was ours was on the front porch, meowing for food, to be let inside. She thought it was our cat and didn’t have any idea how Nala had gotten out but he followed her into the house so she fed him and left him in the house.
I posted his photo on the Next Door app and got several responses from neighbors who also feed him. No one seems to know who owns him. One neighbor suggested that I catch him and take him to the vet to see if he’s microchipped. Great suggestion except that he often shows up late at night. My suspicion is that Bootsie owner’s may have lived in the neighborhood and left him behind when they moved. The worst kind of pet owner.
I suspect Bootsie may join the MacGregor clan at some point. But first, that microchip. I’m hoping he shows up during the day, when the vet’s office is open, so I can at least find out if he has a microchip. And if he does, I can get the owner’s name and address. If there’s no microchip, then I’ll get him fixed and adopt him.
