A year ago today, MrPurrl and I brought into our house a scrawny, malnourished, full-of-fleas (but very sweet) stray cat that we had been feeding in our back yard for a couple of weeks. Out of concern for our calico girl, Callie, we sequestered the stray in the back bedroom until we could take him to the vet on July 5. He was so good during his incarceration: he slept most of the time, almost as if he knew he was safe and didn't have to sleep "with one eye open"; ate voraciously; and used the litterbox like a pro. After much debate (Thor? D'Argo? Rigel?), we decided to name him Fergus, which we later learned is Celtic for "man of vigor."
The vet said that he was about a year old, but that he was "behind the eight-ball nutritionally", and that we should feed him kitten chow for a month to help build him up. Fergus tested negative for FIV/feline leukemia, and received his shots, as well as a treatment to get rid of the fleas. When the vet said that he had already been neutered, our hearts sank--were we stealing someone else's pet? The vet said if he was indeed someone else's cat, he wasn't being cared for; and that his opinion is that the person who takes responsibility for a pet's care is the rightful owner. He also mentioned that it was possible that the spay-and-neuter folks had neutered him and then let him go. So we brought Fergus home and kept him in the back room for another day to make sure all of the fleas were gone.
In the year that has passed, Fergus and Callie have been good for each other, despite occasional dust-ups. He has grown into a huge cat--very long legs, but all muscle and no fat. And he seems to feel very comfortable in his new home, so much so that's it's almost as if he feels he has passed the audition and can now relax, as these pictures show.
He's always making a face. Roscoe is the camera whore in my house. 
)
Lies! those pics are awesome!!
All you need is a pizza crust! 
