“Mom – come look – I am making a new friend!!!”

“Oh, he’s so cute, Buddy!! What’s his name?”

“Crosby and I want to name him Bootsie because he’s wearing white socks!”

“That’s a great name for him, Buddy. He likes looking at you and Crosby, doesn’t he?”

“His fur is the same color as mine. Do you think we’re related – is he my brother maybe?”

“No, Crosby, he is not your brother. You were born a long way from here, a few years ago. I think he might be lost and can’t find his way home. Let’s build him a tent to sleep in so he can stay warm, and let’s give him some food, ok?”

“Bootsie likes his new tent… especially that nice red heat lamp to keep him warm and the electric blanket – it’s supposed to snow or sleet tonight and we don’t want him to catch a cold.”

“OK, Bootsie, we got you some dry food and a can of salmon & ocean white fish. It’s the same food we eat inside here and it’s really good. Eat up so you stay healthy and get fat like me!”

“What a bushy tail that Crosby cat has… he’s beautiful!!”

“Mom, Bootsie has been coming around for a while now. I let him eat my food on the patio so he doesn’t starve. He’s a really sweet kitty, but doesn’t let anyone touch him. He seems to like living on our patio. I think he feels safe here. “

“Can he stay, Mom? This is the very same way I first found you guys 12 years ago… staring through this glass door, the way he is doing now. I was just a little kitty that was scared and starving until you started feeding me. I think I would have died if you hadn’t saved me. I remember you were sad because you had to put an older black kitty to sleep the same day I showed up. I like to think I was his angel, coming back to you as a new young kitty that you could enjoy for a long time again. That’s why you named me “Miss Junior – because I looked just like the other one, except I was a girl!”

“Mom, can we keep him…pulleeez???”

“Yes, Buddy, he can stay, but he is too scared right now to be held or come inside. He is used to living outside, and that’s where he is happy.

So he can live in the nice warm tent we built for him on our patio chair, protected from the rain and wind. He will get fed the same food all you guys get twice a day. We will post on the internet neighborhood group page that he is here, in case his family is looking for him. He can live here, and Miss Junior will watch over him when she goes outside. And you guys can visit each other through the glass door!”

“Thanks, Mom. I hope he finds his family, and I’m happy we can be his substitute family in the meantime!”