Was letting my pups out in the yard when i heard the tiniest cries from my neighbors house. I thought it was an injured bird at first so I went over to check it out. I realized it was coming from the egress window, which was about 5-6 feet down. The caps that are supposed to be on top of those exits are never in place, so I regularly walk by and glance to make sure no wildlife has ended up down there (again, it's my neighbor's house, or I'd just fix it myself).
I walked up and wouldn't you know, the Cat Distribution System had made a delivery. We live on the outskirts of town in a subdivision and feral cats are a regular sight, so this wasn't a total shock and he's so very tiny that I knew he had to be feral as well.
Jumped down and grabbed him, held him for a long time outside as he cried. I was trying to give the mom a chance to come back if she was around but no dice. I do think I know his momma cat because I see a cat running around our cluster of houses frequently and she's not anyone's pet.
In any case, I brought him in and isolated him, as we have two dogs and two cats already. He was VERY hostile at first, hissing and posturing. But when I held him he immediately calmed down. Kept him in my home office for the afternoon and evening and we gradually progressed from hissing and bluff-biting to cuddling on my arm and eventually falling asleep on me multiple times.
Put him in a large box with all the essentials as I had dinner and then took him back out and did some more cuddling. Got my first purrs, too, which was a nice little bonus. He's eaten half a can of kitten food and has been going potty so he's starting to feel more like himself I think.
Going to keep acclimating him to humans over the long weekend and then next week my wife (an ultrasound and veterinary technician) will take him in to her vet and get him checked out.
Lots of unknowns at this point, obviously. Does he have anything wrong, will he fully acclimate to people, how will he react to my other cats and especially my dogs, etc. We do have a pretty large home, and no kids, so we have plenty of room but obviously the comfort of our pets and everyone's ability to get along comes first.
All that said, I intend on doing everything in my power to make this new arrival ours for good.
Last year I lost both my mom and dad within 4 months of each other to two different but equally brutal diseases. Two months later I lost my grandma and more recently my uncle. Needless to say, it's been an interesting year as I try to keep moving on.
The 1-year anniversary of my dad's passing just happened a month ago and my mom's is coming up soon. I miss them terribly and have been very down in the dumps.
My mom LOVED cats and always made sure we had a kitty in the house when I was growing up. She knew how much I adored cats as well. Given the timing, and me being desperate for something pleasant to focus on right now, I can't help but think maybe she helped deliver this little guy to me. At least I hope so.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading ❤️
Meet Ulysses.