Smoky and Baby Smoky

We're blessed with two lovely smoky-colored cats. The first, a female named - er - Smoky, was a stray we found wandering around when my honey still lived back at his condo. She didn't seem to belong to anybody, and she was a bit skittish at first. But she warmed up to us quickly and soon came indoors as a housecat.

She's affectionate, refined, and very, very sweet. She's also the most psychic of our cats, very attuned to energy. If there's any bad mojo floating around, she's quick to come and stare at us with her huge yellow eyes like saucers and gets our attention.

About a year after we adopted Smoky, Baby Smoky turned up at my honey's patio door with his two orange brothers. Their mother, a splotchy little stray named Patches, brought her three tiny kittens to our porch so they could all feed. This group of cats was always a little wild. Baby Smoky looked so much like our other cat, Smoky, that we figured they shared the same father and/or mother. Patches might have been Smoky's mother, because they two of them did seem to get along when we let Smoky outside to visit with the new strays.

When we moved to the country we worked hard to bring all of the strays. We trapped each one individually in a humane trap. Their father, a lovely orange feral cat named Brownie (notice a pattern here of naming cats after their colors?) wasn't able to come with us. But we did bring all the others after we took them to the vet to get fixed.

The problem was that they were still pretty feral kitties, so they didn't stick around the house. We were hoping that they could remain outdoor cats and they could be fed on our back porch, but Patches and her two orange boys took off, never to be seen again. Sniff!

The only exception was Baby Smoky, who for some reason wanted to stay nearby. Baby Smoky became friendly with our white outdoor cat, Earl, and Earl seemed to take Baby Smokes in. He mentored him in all of the cool patrols around the property, and the two of them would disappear and have fun during the day and then stop in the house at night.

Baby Smokes has remained largely an outdoor cat, but when the weather turns cold he takes to sleeping inside. He likes to snuggle and receive rubs, but on his terms. If he's in a skittish mood he won't let you near him.

I like it when he comes around and snuggles in with us. Here's a pic I took the other night when Baby Smokes was relaxing on his blanket.




See how much he looks like Smoky? They must be siblings. They're both very wonderful and loving kitties.

Tags:
Gray cat Cat Cute cat Feral cat