stray kitty

yesterday a stray kitten found my husband in our backyard when he went out to feed the birds. he's a big softie, so he was feeling a bit mushy toward it & gave it a pat & some rubs. the kitty found our deck water bowl (intended for use by raccoons) & lapped it up quickly.

later in the evening, i sent brooke to put some raw chicken breast that she'd cut up for the coonies out back in their food bowl. that kitten came racing over to her from our duplex neighbor's deck & rubbed & purred on her. she immediately scooped it up & rubbed her face all over it. thankfully it was friendly & didn't claw her eyes out. brooke started brushing it and it wasn't long before she'd named it twinkle & written in chalk on the deck, "wolkum home twinkl."  that kitty gobbled up all the chicken she'd brought out for the coons as well as some cat food i sent out through the window.

it was pretty scruffy looking because it has long fur and a lot of mats, but we've cut the mats out as well as trimmed her nails & twinkle's looking pretty good now. she made it through the night & didn't get eaten by any raccoons or possums or coyotes. we already have an indoor cat who's never had a bug or worm & i'm not sure we're interested in bringing the new cat into our happy little home to bring all her parasites & dirt along with her, but for now, she's welcome to stay outside & keep my girl happy.

brooke's never had a pet to play with in the yard & she's also never had a cat who loved all over her like she was the best thing in the whole wide world. this cat can't get enough of brooke & the feeling is mutual. she's been sitting outside with twinkle today, just rubbing her & creating a little home for her with a box & a rag & a plastic shopping bag (the bag is under the rag so it'll make a nice crinkly noise when it's stepped on), brushing her & reading her books. she's done her school work outside and with a happy attitude. brooke has been out there with the cat for 4 hrs already today and showing no evidence of being tired of it yet.

i think we have a new cat.