When we first met Charlie, at the end of winter, he was very well fed and appeared to be a family pet. In fact, I purposefully avoided feeding him because I did not want to create confusion. And, he was quite chubby, as seen here. I grew suspicious that he might be more of a street cat, and I finally attempted to feed him. He scoffed at the Frisky's we provided and did not eat a single bite. Therefore, I assumed he was "all set" on the food front.
We didn't see him again for several weeks, and when we did it was at a distance. Three weeks ago he appeared on our deck, very thin and covered in ticks. It was 8:00pm and too late for a visit to the veterinarian. Instead, Skip went to the store and returned home with a flea/tick collar, some spray and cat treats. We fed him and somehow managed to thoroughly cover him with the flea/tick treatment. He enjoyed the treats. He spent the night on our deck -- not in the box I provided him, but he stayed nonetheless. He meowed when the sun came up, and we did not see him again for a few days. (We assumed he was miffed about the spray.)
He reappeared a week ago. He settled into a routine of appearing in the morning and late afternoon for food. We're still devising a plan to get him to the vet soon, but he is making progress. Charlie is quite feral, a street cat, and I don't think he will willingly enter a pet carrier.
The girls love him. There has been very limited interaction so far, but they talk to him all the time.
"Hey, Charlie Brown..."
"Hey little buddy..."
"Want some food?"
Although he still pulls a disappearing act every few days, he is spending more and more time on our deck and porch. We consider him ours now unless or until someone claims him (and takes responsibility for his welfare).
Welcome home, Charlie!
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