Love came walking in on four velvet paws.

One minute, we didn't have any pets; the next, a scrawny orange cat who decided to make his home its very own.  So now we have a cat.

I wasn't too thrilled with the prospect of owning a cat, but my wife and kids had other ideas.  They took to the cat like a duck does to water: they took him in and claimed the cat as their own.  (I'm not a real fan of cats: I'm more of a dog person, but we don't have a dog because my littlest one is terrified of dogs, ever since one overeager mutt knocked her down.)

Anyway, back to my story.  It was a lovely spring day.  I was in my favorite chair in the livingroom, reading the Sunday paper, when I thought I heard a cat meowing.  I got up and opened the door ... only to find this scrawny, beat-up looking orange cat sitting there, looking, no, staring, at me.  I had never seen the critter before in my life, yet he didn't run away when I told it to scat.  I guess he had other ideas.

When I opened the door, this cat walked in.  Never seen it before in my life.  It walked right into the kitchen, begging me to follow it, meowing all the while.  I guess it was hungry or something.  "Well, I don't have any cat food", I told the cat.  The cat didn't care.  All I had was some left over chicken.  I got  a little of that, put it on a plate, and set the plate down before the cat.  I also got it some water.  The cat went right to eating; it sat down on its haunches and went to work, trying to satisfy its hunger.

The cat was nothing but skin and bones.  It was a dirty orange color and had green eyes and a kinked tail.  One of its ears was missing.  It was a rather ugly cat.  Yet it seemed friendly enough, as it seemed to make itself right at home after it walked in.

After the cat ate its meal, it washed itself from head to tail.  It was purring.  It seemed very happy.

That was two months ago.  

The cat has remained here, and I've since gotten used to having the cat around.  My wife christened him "Orange" (probably because of its orange fur, no doubt), and the cat has proved to be a very friendly, intelligent animal.  The cat entertains us for hours with his antics (we found out it was a male when we took it to the vet for a thorough checkup), and he is a nonstop purring machine: he purrs constantly, and his purrs are LOUD, LOUD!!   

Thanks to this cat, I am turning into a cat afficianado.  He is definitely all cat; he knows where it's at!!