It started last Friday. Matt and I were hanging out in the living room after dinner, watching whatever on tv, the back door open for some air, and we heard this odd meow. We looked at each other, "Was that one of ours?" We didn't think much of it, since Dante occasionally sounds off. About half an hour later, we heard it again, and when we looked, there was this big black cat standing in the dining room, looking startled. Not one of ours. :)
Matt got up, and the cat stood there for a bit. He sniffed Matt's hand, then took off, running back out the door and going over the back/side fence. The six foot concrete wall. The thing that let me feel safe enough to let our three cats wander in the back yard unsupervised.
The funny thing is, this guy's been back almost daily. When he first came in the house, he was standing right beside a chair Patch was resting on, and she didn't make a sound. She made more noise back in Ohio when the raccoon would get into Matt's room at night. She makes grumbling growls at this guy now, though, and took a swipe at him the other day when he ran past her. He hasn't been in the house again that we know of, but we do have a cat door that's open, so it's possible he could. Matt thought he heard a strange chirping meow the other night, but didn't feel like getting up to see if he was in the house.
He's a very pretty cat, all black that I can see, sleek and big, like a mini-panther. If we've been adopted by him, though, one of the first things we'll have to do is get him fixed, checked out, and vaccinated. But he looks taken-care-of, like he belongs to someone. The trouble with cats, unlike dogs, is that most of them don't wear collars, and don't require licenses, so there's no easy way to find out if one's a stray or just a wanderer.
I'm also afraid our cats will watch this guy hop the fence and think/realize, "Hey, I could do that!" My babies have always been indoor cats. We're only letting them out in the backyard because of the wall. Patch is used to indoor/outdoor, but still, Matt's lost too many pets to vehicles to want her out there roaming around. My cats wear collars, but I need to get them updated ID tags. Patch is a long-haired cat, and she's worn a flea collar once, but it matted the fur around her neck. I'd still be willing to risk that. Or look into how much microchipping is. But I don't know how much I trust that, how widely known it is.
I'll have to see if I can get a picture of this guy next time he's around.
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