I call it Rebel Rebel because I’m not sure if it’s a boy or a girl. I suspect, though, that he’s a boy, so I shall henceforth refer to him as one.
I’m seriously allergic to cats so I’m only going to let him be so much a part of my life. I do feed him when he comes around, though, and I give him water. And I let him rub up against my leg. He seems healthy and he’s very affectionate so I assume he’s not feral. I think he may belong to someone in the neighborhood. He sort of comes and goes but it makes me surprisingly happy when I see him sleeping out on the deck. And I have a fantasy that he’s intimidating the mice as well.
It’s actually the perfect cat scenario for me. I think my mom may have had the same arrangement with this same cat. And he’s just kind of adorable…
Yay Rebel Rebel. Too cute. What a nice visitor to have on your porch. Feed him and he’ll certainly come by more often.
LOVE the name. Outdoor Kittehs are often quite willing to meet you on your own terms. I recommend some Whiskas Temptations if you wish to dole out the occasional treat. As you know, I’m allergic, too, but I can give them skritches w/o problems if fur doesn’t fly and I remember to wash my hands right afterward. I’m also super glad you’re feeling better.
“I do feed him when he comes around, though, and I give him water.”
Congratulations, you now have a cat. More correctly: the cat now has a servant.
And yes, odds are he’s almost certainly male. It’s rare for female cats to be orange, because the production of phaeomelanin instead of eumelanin in cats is a recessive X-linked trait.
Ack. It’s actually codominant, not recessive. It’s why calico cats happen: they’re females with one of each kind of X chromosome. In some cells, the reddish melanin gene prevails, in others the normal one does.
OK, enough cat genetics.
P.S. If you had a mouse problem, you don’t anymore. :)
He lies on his back and shows me his tummy, which–I’m told–means he likes and trusts me. That seemed to happen awfully fast; maybe he can smell the fish oil I take every day.
So since he was already looking pretty well-fed before I started feeding him, should I assume he’ll be OK while I’m in Canada for two weeks?
I have a similar arrangement with a beautiful seal-point siamese. She seems to do okay when I am out of town for the week and is happy to see me when I’m back. Have fun with Rebel Rebel.