Mew

Mew in the container of catnip

Mew is our neighbor's cat.  He likes to live outside because he doesn't like dogs and they have 3 or 4 indoor/outdoor dogs.  He will go home for the night and sleep overnight with the neighbor's younger daughter, but when they leave for school, Mew goes outside.  He is litter trained and is a very nice 3 yr. old kitty. 

Two summers ago, we started befriending Mew after I came home and found him wailing at the neighbor's front door in the 100º+ heat.  He had no water and no means of getting inside.  So, I put some cool water with a few ice cubes outside in a bowl for him and then coaxed him into our backyard to drink.  That began our befriending process.  He gradually came to adopt our yard as his domain and works hard to keep any rodents or bugs out of our yard.  We noticed he was appearing a bit on the skinny side, so we began feeding him a little bit.  How now knows that we feed twice a day and if he shows up around those times, he'll get fed, too.  He patiently waits on the ledge outside the sink over the kitchen window.  He knows the routine and will be waiting at the back door when I open it to feed him.  He has a feeding station and is a love bug when we go out to feed him. 

Several days (& nights) this winter, Mew has been left out in the cold to fend for himself and try to stay warm.  Cold for us, anyway.  Several nights it was in the 20s and teens and we've had several ice events and light snow, so we opened up our enclosed sunroom to him.  Our kitties love the sunroom and we've got lots of windows for them to enjoy.  We put our outdoor potted plants in the sunroom during the winter months and we've got a small electric heater out there we plug in when it's going to be below freezing.  So my husband rigged up a comfy spot for Mew to sleep and he has all the basic amenities, food, water, and litter  box.  This has worked out well for all of us.  I spoke with my neighbor and she's fine with us making sure he's safe and warm.  At first, Mew wasn't too keen on being inside, but we don't let him out unless it's above freezing and now he just hangs out and sleeps most of the time he's inside the sunroom. 

Hannah in front and Tumbles in the back guarding the door!

When Mew's in the sunroom, Tumbles and Hannah are the most curious.  Tumbles likes to sit in the window above our couch and keep an eye on Mew or he sits by the door to the sunroom and guards our house against the intruder.  Hannah looks out the door, then goes and sleeps.  Daisy could care less! 

Tumbles on the windowsill above the couch guarding the house.  Mew is in the sunroom dreaming about being inside.

Mew is a great cat!  He loves attention and isn't dominant at all.  In the spring and summer, he hangs out in our garden and sleeps under the leaves of the okra plants. 

He loves to be petted and will roll over on his back for you to rub his belly if he trusts you.  He has a high pitched, squeaky meow and a deep rumble of a purr, which I got to hear for the first time just a week or so ago.  I've told my neighbor that if something happens and they are unable to care for him any longer, we'd happily adopt him and bring him into our home with our crew.  Tumbles might not like it and Hannah might revolt, but we'd make it work out somehow. 

Mew in his favorite spot in the sunroom.