A Cat Named Mike: Part 2
/This adorable orange visitor continued to hang out on my porch during the following days. He'd be waiting for me, looking impatient, on the stairs when I arrived home from work. He spent his evenings on the door mat in front of my front door waiting for a visit from me. And every morning when I awoke, he was there on my porch for breakfast.
The nights were getting cold, so I put out a box with some old t-shirts in it, as well as a t-shirt in the corner of the porch where he liked to sleep. He used both areas, and piled up leaves on the corner t-shirt to make a bit of a nest.
He constantly tried to get into our house anytime we opened the door. He remained skittish to noises, or quick movements. However, everyday he became increasingly more trusting and affectionate towards me....he was downright cuddly. He let me hold him for brief periods of time, and sat on my lap once.
I took some photos as best I could. It was challenging because he wanted me to snuggle with him, not photograph him. And I posted these photos on our local NextDoor to see if he was lost.
We took great care to wash our hands after every encounter with him, and he used the human dishes, not the kitty dishes, so that we prevented accidental contamination. We also made sure our cats were up to do date on flea prevention.
We continued on like this for a week, until it was time for us to leave for a long weekend trip. We thought this would be a good test...if he didn't need us during the four days we were gone, he'd move on to another home. If he was there when we returned, we'd consider adoption.
