Tell us about your "cats with a past"

[jcat]

A German cat magazine, Geliebte Katze, has an article in its current issue about "second-hand cats". Were any of your cats "pre-owned"? What do you know about their histories? How long did it take them to settle in?

Mogli is a "cat with a past". He spent a couple of months at our local shelter after his first family surrendered him. The reason given was that he didn't get along with their other cat. He'd just been put up for adoption again at the age of 9 months when we found each other. He wasn't even listed on the shelter's website yet, because the people there wanted to determine whether he really didn't like other cats (true) and hoped that his first owners might reconsider if the chronic diarrhea he suffered from resolved. They already had several other black cats that needed homes.

It was love at first sight; within an hour I'd gone home to get a carrier and headed back to get him without even discussing it with my husband. The head of the shelter recommended just opening the carrier door and letting him go. That's not something I normally would have attempted, but I figured she knew him and was the better judge. It was fine with Mogli. He explored the house, scarfed down some dinner, played fetch, sat on our laps that first evening and spent the first night in our bed. Now that we know him better, it's clear that our mischievous kitty was actually a bit subdued those first few days.

We'd definitely do it all over again!

View media item 173206

 

[Winchester]

That boy is just beautiful! You have to love the black kitties. 

Most of you know Muffin's story. One of my mother's friends found her as a wee kitten inside an abandoned house. She was walking by the house and heard crying. She knew the people had left the house, so she tried the door and it was unlocked. Walked in and found Muffin on the floor with no food, no water, nothing. She was about 5 weeks old. Took her home and kept her for a few months.

After Dad died, Mom decided she wanted a cat. Her friend gave Muffin to her. She had her spayed and declawed (apartment rules; I tried, really I did, but if Mom was to have the cat, she had to be declawed). Muffin lived with Mom for almost a year.

When Mom had to go into a nursing home at the beginning of September last year, nobody would take Muffin. So Rick and I added her to our RugCat clan. We already had seven at the time, so at that point, what's one more RugCat? Muffin and Tabby get along beautifully. Muffin and Amber get along beautifully. Muffin and Mollipop? Well, that's a whole other story. Two alpha females under one roof....not so beautiful. But we keep an eye on things. The rest of the clan doesn't care one way or the other....as it sometimes is with older cats.

And Muffin has a forever home with us. She's truly a sweetie and she's become my lap cat. Most of the time, Mollipop sleeps on my second pillow above my head and Muffin sleeps at my side between Rick and me. It works out. (After Mom died, I found out from my sister that Mom had told her that she wasn't worried about where Muffin would go if anything happened.....she knew that when the time came, Muffin would live with us. She always told my sister that "Pam will take care of her" and that's what happened.)

I'll post a picture of our Muffin-Stuffin when I get home tonight.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

All my cats have a history. In the first picture are my Rainbow Bridge Boys. Max is the black and Speedboat the tabby. We got Max from the assistant principal at the high school. He was allergic to cats. Max was my Forever Cat. But when he first came to live with us, I hated him. He did things cats don't normally do, walk on the treadmill with me, take showers with me. The list is long and you can do a search here if you want to read more about this amazing cat. I will forever miss him. He was 12 when we had to help him over the Bridge.

Speedboat came up on the carport one day and made himself at home. Hubby said feed him. I did. Then hubby said put him inside with Max and I did. They loved each other like no two cats I ever had since. Speedboat was 14 when we lost him. He was a very special cat, my lap cat, and he loved me better than any cat I ever had.

Max & Speedboat 52.jpg

• blueyedgirl5946
• Aug 15, 2013

Mattie is the calico in the picture and Muffin the grey and white boy. Muffin was a baby that my husband brought home from the boat landing one day when he went fishing. He couldn't concentrate on fishing so he quit, caught Muffin and came home. He lived outside for a while, but then he started climbing the fence. At that time hubby installed the cat fence in system because he was having such allergic symptoms. All three cats moved to outside within a controlled safe area. Muffin has always been an instant purr box. My vet says he is the only cat who purrs the whole time he gets a needle stuck in him. He had cancer a year ago, surgery and now the vet says he has another abdominal tumor. We are spoiling him and loving him, taking one day at the time. He will be fourteen in January.

Mattie came up on the porch on a hundred degree day. She got the deer in the headlights look when she realized I was looking at her.
I was watering plants on the porch. She jumped in the flower pot and started licking water off the plants.. She was famished. When hubby came home, he said feed her. I didn't want to, but we did. I had just had extensive bills for Muffin with urinary blockage, etc. The local PAWS asked me to foster her until they could find her a home. Then they offered to help with the bills of spaying her, shots, etc if I woud adopt her. I let them talk me into it. We could tell she wanted to be friendly, but she didn't trust us enough. We had to handle her with gloves on. She was first kept on our screen porch to make sure she didn't get pregnant and keep her from too much contact with Muffin and Speedboat. The vet shaved her belly and discovered a scar that turned out to be a spay scar. She had been loved by someone else. We never found out who she had belonged to although we live in a small rural community.. She is about ten years old and is healthy other than a chronic runny eye which the vet says is caused by herpes.

Muffin Florence 2013 5.JPG

• blueyedgirl5946
• Aug 15, 2013

 

[jcat]

Awww, they all found you, even though Max had help doing it, and each one is special in his or her own way. I remember your stories about Max, Speedboat and Muffin, but I don't think I ever heard how Mattie came to be with you.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

Awww, they all found you, even though Max had help doing it, and each one is special in his or her own way. I remember your stories about Max, Speedboat and Muffin, but I don't think I ever heard how Mattie came to be with you.

Actually, Tricia. When we lost Max, I knew I was determined not to replace him. I was praying one day and told the Lord that if I was supposed to have another cat, it would have to come up on my front porch. Then I would know it was meant to be. Well, it was a year later when Mattie showed up on the porch. By that time, I had forgotten the prayer. So I was trying everyway I could to find her a home because we had just spent so much money on Muffin's vet bills. Then my husband asked me why in the world I was trying to get rid of a cat that I had told the Lord was meant to be if it showed up on my porch. What could I say. She was mine from that day forward.:lol3:

 

[meuzettesmom]

Most of my nine cats are "preowned" Six are from my sisters farm. Two were beaten up and broken thereI have one from the humane societyOne found in a parking lot. Who knows her story??? She knows, but isn't telling. Except with the missed up bottom jaw. Kicked?I picked my last cat out of a line up of kittens. I am too old to adopt anymore. I don't want to die before them. I don't want them to suffer when I am gone..Oops of topic....Ray is my black cat from my sisters farm. She was one of my sisters inside cats on the farm. Ray use to be beat up for jumping on the kitchen counter. She has aliitle head damage and is always over welmed when you pick her up to love her. She just purrs all over, like there is just too much in there to hold back.Willie was a kitten with a broken leg. he too loves with his whole body. Both are over ten and hang out together.

 

[betsygee]

My beloved only child Skittles came to us as a tiny kitten, and was an only cat for over 17 years.  When she passed, we got two siblings from the SPCA also as kittens.  Six months later we took in a 6-month old from the SPCA who was about to be put down because he'd been there too long and no one had adopted him.  Our neighbor who worked there told us about him.  I can't imagine why no one adopted him but I'm glad they didn't!  I love Ozzy, he's the sweetest, most laid back cat ever.  So my first four weren't really "pre-owned", but abandoned or given up as kittens.

The "new" four definitely have a past--I joined TCS after getting them, looking for some advice on various issues.  A good friend of ours had cancer.  We (and she) knew she wouldn't live to old age but she was expected to live a few more years anyway.  She was the very loving mom to four cats, now ages 10, 10, 13 and 17, and a little dog about 8 years old.  She had no other family and these pets were her life--she told me she worried every day what would happen to them all if she didn't make it.  Well, hubby and I talked about it quite a bit and decided to make the offer to take her cats if anything happened.  To be really honest, we thought she would outlive at least a couple of them.  One 10 year old is healthy, but then one is 17 years old, and one of the 10 year olds and the 13 year old have been treated for IBD for a long time.  Our friend was terribly worried about losing the 13 year old especially, he was losing weight and not doing well at all.  

We thought if the time came, we'd be taking in one, maybe two older cats (another friend offered to take the dog).  Well....she had a compromised immune system from all the chemo treatments, etc. for the cancer and ended up dying very suddenly from a respiratory infection.  

So we took all four of them in.  Our friend kept meticulous records, thankfully, so we know all about their history--she had adopted each one from a shelter as kittens, and they had all been well cared for and well loved for 10 to 17 years, kept happily indoors together with their little dog buddy.

It was pretty difficult at first--both hubby and I, our three cats and the "newbies" as we call them--were all pretty shell-shocked at the sudden turn of events.  It's been five months now and things are slowly settling down.  Fortunately they are all affectionate cats and get along great (mostly) with each other.  Two of them are integrating well with our kitties.  A third is getting there, she's just kind of hyper and chases our cats so we still don't leave her out unsupervised.  The fourth, also the most ill, 13 year old, is NOT integrating. He's been in some horrific fights with our cats and even in a couple with his own tribe--we have to keep him separate from our cats and he's on anti-anxiety meds now.  

Our cats are tolerating the intrusion better now--they are SO spoiled and were not at all happy about sharing their home with four other cats!  Even so, it's becoming clear we will probably not have one big happy cat family (at least not any time soon) so we're in the process of building a catio outside for the newbies, plus they have an adjoining indoor room for eating/sleeping.  That way, they can have a comfortable living space and we don't have to worry about fights or about them getting out--they've been lifelong indoor cats; ours come and go as they please through the cat door.  

And we do what we call the Cat Shuffle 

 --sometimes we let the newbies have the run of the house while ours are shut in the TV room; sometimes 2 or 3 of the newbies mix with our cats, and sleep out with them/us at night; sometimes hubby will sleep with our cats in one room and I'll do a "sleepover" with the newbies in another bedroom. They were obviously used to sleeping with their mom and love it when they get to snuggle at night.  

Having this many cats at once sure isn't what we anticipated, but we're slowly working it out, and don't regret for one minute keeping our promise to our friend.  

 

[natalie_ca]

All of my kitties were "pre-owned" before the 3 I have now.

Abby came to me at 4 months from my friend's daughter's former roommate whose cat had kittens.

Spencer and Katie were found as relatively new borns and taken with their Mom to the vet. I adopted the 2 kittens when they were ready to leave Mom.

My RB kitty Chynna, who I refer to as my "soul-mate kitty" was abandoned in a stairwell of a highrise building I lived in.  The security guards found her and put her in the party room and looked after her for a week while advertising for her owner. No one claimed her, so they put her outside. The building was sandwiched on 3 sides by very busy streets that had cars, buses and big trucks going down them. I lived on the 4th floor facing the front and all night I heard meowing, or what I thought was meowing.   It was May and quite cold at night. In the morning I was leaving for work and I heard meowing again.  I went towards the bushes and it was louder.  Then I saw a pretty white cat hiding in the shrubs.  I tried to catch her but she kept going from bush to bush. Finally she let me catch her.  I took her upstairs, and pulled out and old litter box and shredded up some newspaper.  The lady that was outside with me at the time, gave me some doggie kibble for her.

My plan was to take her to the humane society after work when I got home.  But that didn't happen. When I got home I found her asleep at the foot of my bed. I picked her up and was going to put her into a carrier, but she hugged my neck and started to purr and gave me kisses on my nose until it felt raw!  I put her back down on the bed, called a taxi and went to the store for cat litter and cat food.

She was with me over 18 years.
 

 

[betsygee]

All of my kitties were "pre-owned" before the 3 I have now.

Abby came to me at 4 months from my friend's daughter's former roommate whose cat had kittens.

My plan was to take her to the humane society after work when I got home.  But that didn't happen. When I got home I found her asleep at the foot of my bed. I picked her up and was going to put her into a carrier, but she hugged my neck and started to purr and gave me kisses on my nose until it felt raw!  I put her back down on the bed, called a taxi and went to the store for cat litter and cat food.

She was with me over 18 years.
 

Ohhhh, that's a wonderful story.  I can picture her little 'arms' around your neck....  

 

[meejay22]

I've had 3 cats with a history:

Tabitha: I discovered a grey dark striped tabby with white socks and green eyes (a brown freckle in the right one) that was pregnant in my neighborhood about 15 years ago. She wouldn't let me pick her up at first but she was awfully hungry so I let her sneak into my shed where I left tuna out (didn't have much money). Then I started to cut down high grass in my yard and set it down for her- in about a month she went from never getting closer than 6 feet to me to allowing me to help her have 6 babies in a drawer of my dresser. I decided to keep 2 of the kittens and adopted 4 out but she got pregnant before I saved enough to spay her and I knew I didn't have any way to get another litter safely adopted so I gave her up to an Amish family that had plenty of room for her and cared for their cats. Eventually one of her kittens came back to me because the adopters cat wouldn't accept him and I kept 3 of them till the end of their lives.

Cynthia: A few months later I do a double take, there is another grey striped tabby with yellow eyes and no socks on my doorstep. She was the spitting image of her sister only this one had bloody, infected paws. I asked around and found out that two brothers who lived up the street owned both of these cats, they kicked Tabitha out when she got pregnant and they got Cynthia declawed- I have no idea why they threw her out but I gave them a piece of my mind and then took her in. Again, I had no money but I used peroxide and tri antibiotic to fix her up. She stuck around and had one litter of two kittens, which both happened to be deaf and were adopted by the same wonderful older gentleman who gave me updates for years on them. I had her spayed and then about 6 months later she just never returned home.

Andrea: Is currently with me (I don't think I "own" her, she's just crashing at my place, haha), a silver tabby who likes to do her own thing, she only communicates with me when I first get home from work, when she is hungry and after 10pm which she has decided is my bedtime and I need to be reminded I have learned she likes men better, she does not eat any people food but gets SUPER excited when you come home with take out boxes, she does not EVER want to be picked up and I suspect she was somewhat formally trained. When I make a noise similar to a clicker (snap a cap hard on a pen or click a button on a plastic toy she has) she sits and waits for direction, every time.

 

[jcat]

These are great stories! I remember Chynna's, and I've been following Betsy's about how she went from three cats to seven. A room with an adjoining catio for the newbies is a great idea.
Jill, all nine of yours were so lucky to have found you.

You have to wonder whether Tabitha told Cynthia she was on to a good thing. :lol3: It really does sound like Andrea was clicker trained at some point. Mogli loves clicker training, and if anything clicks, he sits (his first trick) and looks like he expects a treat!

 

[furperson]

Wonderful stories here! I just recently joined this forum because I was "adopted" by a 8-week-old Manx kitten we found at our hunting camp. This place was in the middle of the woods, so he couldn't have got there on his own. Somebody had trespassed on the property, dumped a bunch of trash, and dumped this kitten along with it. We had arrived at camp shortly after a huge thunderstorm, and as we were unlocking the gate to get into the camp, we heard a mewing sound from the bushes near the trash pile. We looked and found this soaking wet, shivering, meowing kitten! We couldn't just leave him there, of course, so we took him to camp with us and dried him off and gave him some leftover pork to eat. He was covered in fleas and just in overall rough shape. But we let him sleep in the tent with us, and he bonded with me almost immediately! 

I brought him home with me and got him a proper flea treatment, de-wormed him and put him on a healthy, grain-free kibble.  I named him Skinner, as I thought it seemed a suitable name for a cat owned by a taxidermist
 He's already grown a bit and has the sweetest, calmest personality. He follows me everywhere around the house and plays with my ferret, too. Though we never had a chance at shooting a wild boar during our hunt, I am so glad we went there anyway or we wouldn't have found little Skinner. It's almost as if it was meant to happen!

Here's a picture from the first day we found him:

skinner day1 hunt camp.jpg

• furperson
• Aug 16, 2013

And a pic I took of him yesterday, while he was "helping" me sort and price furs! 

grading furs with skinner.jpg

• furperson
• Aug 16, 2013

 

[jcat]

Aww, Skinner is beautiful! It really does sound like it was meant to be. It certainly sounds like he thinks so!

A couple of years ago, one of our veteran TCS team members was in a national forest and found a little cat. Everybody figured she must have been dumped or escaped when her family was camping there, because it was so far from any houses and she was used to being around people. She took her home to foster, but Annie ended up staying with her permanently. :lol3:

 

[betsygee]

.
Jill, all nine of yours were so lucky to have found you.

 

Absolutely!

 

[natalie_ca]

Ohhhh, that's a wonderful story.  I can picture her little 'arms' around your neck....  

Chynna was the sweetest cat I've ever had. So gentle and a real social butterfly.  She loved everyone; even the vet.  She loved to hug necks and arms, and give kisses galore.  And it wasn't just when she wanted to. If you said "kiss kiss", she gave you nose kisses

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Noodles

P7310411.JPG

• MoochNNoodles
• Aug 16, 2013

My Mom's cat, who is supposed to be mine, Bunny came as an adult of about 2-3 years.  She came a few months after I'd gotten married and moved out.  Because DH is allergic to cats we didn't have any (which obviously didn't last).  I went to the SPCA with my Mom and step-sister to see this kitten Mom had fallen in love with.  Bunny was in the kennel above and to the right of him (Pumpkin).  She rubbed on my hand through the bars and that was it.  I was in love.  Pumpkin came home that day.  Mom and I couldn't get Bunny out of our minds.  Her paperwork said her previous surrenders had been because of allergies and moving overseas.  Poor thing.  3 days later Mom called the SPCA before they even opened to see if she was still there. She was!  So she told them to we were coming to get her.  We got there and she was gone!  I got there first and about panicked.  They were kind of busy.  But Mom was able to find out she had been taken to Petsmart to have a turn there.  We were able to fill out all the paperwork and what not right there and then go to Petsmart to get her.  Bunny is a love!  She loves to be rubbed and will leave a ring of hair around your ankles from rubbing on you.  But, as we soon found out, she has pee pee problems.  Meaning she will pee indoors if she doesn't get her way!  Mom eventually figured out that she will rarely do this if she has access to the outdoors.  Her carpets suffered; but almost 10 years later Bunny is still with her.  So is Pumpkin.  He was a preemie and only about a pound when he came home; flea dirt in his coat and a kitty cold.  Bunny became his Mommy. She bathed him, snuggled him, even disciplined him.  He repays her now by harassing her. 

P3310266.JPG

• MoochNNoodles
• Aug 16, 2013

Bunny

P3310270.JPG

• MoochNNoodles
• Aug 16, 2013

Pumpkin

P3310274.JPG

• MoochNNoodles
• Aug 16, 2013

 

[sneakymom]

Jasper was "pre-owned". And he had a lot of issues with him too

My neighbor's husband's mom passed away about 3 years ago.  Before that- she lived with my neighbor's sister.  I don't know who took care of who- they both needed care.  When his mom died- nobody was watching out for his sister.  And she needs someone to watch out for her.  I don't know what kinds of problems she has (she doesn't/can't work) don't want/care to know.  So they decided to move her here so they could keep "an eye" on her. 

She had Jasper.  Jasper had peeing problems.  He sprayed.  Everywhere.   He was nervous.  She was going to take him to an apartment- but the ONLY apartment that she could afford, had a no pets policy.  Neighbor has allergies.  I didn't want this cat- but if I hadn't taken him, he would have gone to the pound (and probably never gone to a home

).  I tried EVERYTHING.  Feliaway (spent a small fortune on that).  Nature's Miracle (I bought that by the gallon).  Enzyme cleaner.  He still peed/sprayed everywhere.  But we still loved him.

We had him for 2 years.  And yeah- he destroyed some carpet.  To this day it still stinks. He sprayed dh's tool chest- and kind of ruined it.  But to have my neighbor's sister happy b/c we took good care of her cat- right until the end- that was worth it. 

We put him down almost a year ago

  He'd been hiding all over the house, not eating, not drinking and he'd lost a whole lot of weight.  We're thinking it was some sort of cancer.

Cheryl

 

[betsygee]

These are great stories! I remember Chynna's, and I've been following Betsy's about how she went from three cats to seven. A room with an adjoining catio for the newbies is a great idea.
Jill, all nine of yours were so lucky to have found you.

You have to wonder whether Tabitha told Cynthia she was on to a good thing.

It really does sound like Andrea was clicker trained at some point. Mogli loves clicker training, and if anything clicks, he sits (his first trick) and looks like he expects a treat!

I can't wait to get this catio done.  I'm going to have fun setting up the interior with climbing shelves, cubby holes, containers with cat grass, etc.  There are so many great ideas on the internet for ways to set them up to make them attractive for us humans and fun/functional for the cats.  

 

[matts mom]

Image0040.jpg

• matts mom
• Oct 1, 2012

This is Sassycat(RIP) She came to live with me after I discovered that I had a mouse in the house that was not afraid of humans......I was not happy! So I put to word out to a friend and neighbor that I wanted a cat, and she told me about Sassy. She was well loved, but her owner's husband was terribly allergic and there were 2cats in the house. So we went and got her, along with all of her fancy things, and she moved into my house. She was a pampered kitty, and wasn't too keen on the kids. they were only allowed to pet her if I was right there, but she loved me    She sounded like a motor bot when she purred and if I fed her wet food, she sang for her supper. We used to have conversations, and I sometimes thought she was part siamese because she talked about everything.

 When she was about 7 her teeth started hurting and I took her in for a cleaning, but the aenesthetic stopped her heart. I miss her terribly.

DSCN0752.JPG

• matts mom
• Jul 27, 2013

 About 21/2 weeks after we lost Sassy, we couldn't handle the empty house any more. We needed a cat in the mornings to fill the void left by the loss of Sassy's conversasions. so we decided that the best way to honor Sassy's life was to save the lif of another cat. WE went to a shelter and looked in the cages. There was Matt. Picked up off the streets a bout 3 weeks earlier, found outside a hockey arena. Judging from his bread-stealing habit, we're assuming he lived on hotdog buns or something. We quickly learned to keep the bread up high. Matt hasn't always been a street cat though.....not a chance, with the way he lets the kids pick him up and hold him like a baby. He also prefers dogs to cats, which gives another clue into his background. But he had NO MANNERS when we got him, and played all teeth and claws, which makes me wonder if that might have something to do with him being stray. Perhaps he scratched one of the kids who had him as a kitten? All speculation of course, but he's such a good cat except for the rough play. I've got some Nasty scars from not long after he came home, and resorted to using Soft-Paws on him while I taught him manners. He's also a bit destructive....likes to play with the PS3-turning it on by chewing it....I had to buy a new TV stand because of him, but I don't mind I wanted it anyway

midnight crashing scrabble ROFLbot.jpg

• matts mom
• Aug 21, 2013

born feral in my neighbor's wood pile, my kids and I have spent the summer socializing the whole lot of them...but Midnight was the only one we made real progress with. I caught him and brought him in on August 15th. The vet estimates him at about 10 weeks, though can't be sure on account of him being the runt of the littler. his siblings outside are about 2inches longer in the body than he is and 1inch taller. but I can't get close enough to catch them yet. Still working on that. Back to Midninght, the little guy's making great progress, for a little feral kitty. He loves to be held, and never scratches. He's always got his friendly tail up He's just starting to learn how to play now(11 weeks) and likes to attack the spare booster seat because it's got little elastic strings hanging off it. He's really Shaping up to be a good little housecat. 

 

[betsygee]

This is Sassycat(RIP) She came to live with me after I discovered that I had a mouse in the house that was not afraid of humans......I was not happy! So I put to word out to a friend and neighbor that I wanted a cat, and she told me about Sassy. She was well loved, but her owner's husband was terribly allergic and there were 2cats in the house. So we went and got her, along with all of her fancy things, and she moved into my house. She was a pampered kitty, and wasn't too keen on the kids. they were only allowed to pet her if I was right there, but she loved me    She sounded like a motor bot when she purred and if I fed her wet food, she sang for her supper. We used to have conversations, and I sometimes thought she was part siamese because she talked about everything.

 When she was about 7 her teeth started hurting and I took her in for a cleaning, but the aenesthetic stopped her heart. I miss her terribly.

 About 21/2 weeks after we lost Sassy, we couldn't handle the empty house any more. We needed a cat in the mornings to fill the void left by the loss of Sassy's conversasions. so we decided that the best way to honor Sassy's life was to save the lif of another cat. WE went to a shelter and looked in the cages. There was Matt. Picked up off the streets a bout 3 weeks earlier, found outside a hockey arena. Judging from his bread-stealing habit, we're assuming he lived on hotdog buns or something. We quickly learned to keep the bread up high. Matt hasn't always been a street cat though.....not a chance, with the way he lets the kids pick him up and hold him like a baby. He also prefers dogs to cats, which gives another clue into his background. But he had NO MANNERS when we got him, and played all teeth and claws, which makes me wonder if that might have something to do with him being stray. Perhaps he scratched one of the kids who had him as a kitten? All speculation of course, but he's such a good cat except for the rough play. I've got some Nasty scars from not long after he came home, and resorted to using Soft-Paws on him while I taught him manners. He's also a bit destructive....likes to play with the PS3-turning it on by chewing it....I had to buy a new TV stand because of him, but I don't mind I wanted it anyway

 He's settling down now, and I'm sure he'll be great as he gets older 

Just in time for Midninght.........

born feral in my neighbor's wood pile, my kids and I have spent the summer socializing the whole lot of them...but Midnight was the only one we made real progress with. I caught him and brought him in on August 15th. The vet estimates him at about 10 weeks, though can't be sure on account of him being the runt of the littler. his siblings outside are about 2inches longer in the body than he is and 1inch taller. but I can't get close enough to catch them yet. Still working on that. Back to Midninght, the little guy's making great progress, for a little feral kitty. He loves to be held, and never scratches. He's always got his friendly tail up He's just starting to learn how to play now(11 weeks) and likes to attack the spare booster seat because it's got little elastic strings hanging off it. He's really Shaping up to be a good little housecat. 

Great story.  CUTE photo of Matt in the middle of the Scrabble game.  :-)