Mr. Kibble: Our history with him

I think he first appeared four or five years ago, but time goes by so fast and I'm really not sure. But one day, I think early December but no snow on the ground (don't know why I remember that) I opened the front door to do something and a cat was there, on the top step. I hadn't seen him before, but assumed he was one of Diane's and perhaps she wasn't home. But the funny thing was that he was sitting up right in front of the door as if he was waiting for me to open it. Like he'd rung the bell. Anyway, I guess I must have brought him some food out the back door and come around to leave the food, because these neighborhood cats are often shy of strangers.

Three weeks later, to the day, the same thing: I opened the door and there he was, seemingly expecting me to open it. That winter, as far as I can recall he came along every three or four weeks, although not in that exact way anymore; he would just show up and we'd give him some dry food. I began to think of him as Mr. Kibble.

He never spoke but he would look you in the eye; he seemed to have a peaceful quality about him which was appealing. I still imagined he belonged to Diane. He has been coming around on occasion since then, less often but probably a couple of times a year. I always liked seeing him when he showed up but then tended to forget about him when he went.

This photo is from a couple of years ago, when he hung out in the driveway after eating. He looks pretty good, doesn't he? His coat was always shiny and he never looked skinny. And he always would look at you. I realize many cats do this, but he seemed a little different to me. So, I never imagined he was on his own.  To be continued.