Officially welcoming Elmer

I think it is safe to say we have a "new" cat, though I'm terrified to jinx it after loving Wesley so much and having him disappear last year.

Elmer started showing up a couple months ago, and we don't really know where he journeyed from--though there is a sign at our local market saying he is a found cat (not by us) and to call "Jack" before "Jack" cuts off this cat's, um, parts. That maybe explains why he started showing up for meals, though he was incredibly skittish at first. Steve naturally got the first head scratch in, but Elmer soon allowed me to participate in the petting ritual.

Sometimes, when we'd open the door, he'd act like he wanted to come in, but you can't rush these things with cats. So one day, I sat down in the doorway and let him nose his way in, get a head scratch, check out the doorway, etc. I knew better than to shut the door behind him, though.

Every day he got a little bolder and a little more affectionate. And little by little, I started feeling like quite the cat tamer.

Little did I know how well I was being played.

Elmer now shows up at breakfast, then comes in to get his post-breakfast treat, settles onto the sofa for a nap while I'm getting ready for work, and then acts affronted when I put him out! Dinner is much the same, except after a power nap on the bathroom rug, he is ready to go out and do his rounds. He's nocturnal, you know.

He's quite the talker (must be the Siamese so obviously in him), especially when someone gets near the kitchen. But he also just likes to be around us, laying where he can hear and see the action,--sometimes right next to us, sometimes right outside the door where we are.

And, yes, Elmer is a tom cat, but so far has exhibited no bad behavior (e.g. spraying) and is too old at this point to stuff in a carrier and haul off to the vet to fix. Besides, he'd then disappear and I really don't think I can handle another cat going poof. All our gals are fixed, too, so--for now, at least--he gets to remain intact.

And we get to have a cat in the house again. Which is a gift I hadn't realized I'd missed as much as I did.