Our cat

Where we live there are a lot of stray cats. Our cat is a former stray cat too, and there's just something special about giving a strat cat a home. We never looked for a cat, but he was suddenly just here. Initially, he was quite timid, only coming at the door for food, which is what he got. Then he slowly allowed us to pet him, and dared to come inside the house. He's still pretty much an outdoor cat- he always sleeps outside, and during the day most of his time is spent outdoors too. He might come in the morning and spend a good three hours of sleeping on his blanket, then go outside and come back in the afternoon for some sleep again. When it's rainy or stormy, he's inside the house more, but he'll always spend the night outdoors. We have an area in the back yard that's covered and there's some furniture on which he sleeps, during the winter we have a blanket on one of the chairs for him. There's also a heap of straw in the garden (don't ask me how that's gotten there), on which he loves to sleep. 

Unfortunately, he fights a lot and I can't really recall a time when he didn't have a wound of some sort. They always seem to heal quickly. Once he had one of his nails ripped off completely- it really looked scary. His paw was blue ish and he couldn't walk, let alone run. But even that, he recovered from. Probably he will not change when it comes to fighting. It's interesting how stray cats can be so different from cats that have been indoors from the beginning, although I'm wondering if it's just because of being a stray cat. It could also just be his character. Anyway, he's certainly quite wild, that's for sure. 

When it comes to food, it's fun to find out what he likes. Cat can have some really weird preferences! Most of his preferences I found out because of being caught on the counter. Chicken and fish are obvious ones, so I never leave that there (unless it's covered). But to my surprise, he absolutely loves legumes! All sorts, but broad beans are his favourite. And then chickpeas. I also caught him once sipping in a pot with aquafaba (chickpea brine). I do try to teach him not to jump on the counter, which he does when I'm in his sight, but he still tries to. Fortunately our kitchen is not an open-plan kitchen and separated from the living room so I can close the door, when necessary. The thing is that they don't really sell cat food here, so we need to get creative and make our own cat foods. For the most part, he just finishes leftovers- he LOVES pasta for example. This is supplemented with fish and chicken and some harder stuff to chew on, such as dried bread chunks. The other day I found cat food in the supermarket, which apparently was something new there, but it turned out to be a very small bag for a ridiculous price. I'd rather buy 5 KG sardines for him for that same price. We also get free fish heads from the fish vendor. The vendor knows my husband as we usually buy our fish there. As loyal customers, he usually saves the fish heads for us, which we get for free, as well as nearly expired fish that he sells for a small price. I honestly think this way of eating is much healthier for a cat than all that store bought cat "foods". His fur is amazingly soft and usually you can tell how good a cat's diet is by the softness of the fur. 

What I find quite annoying, though, is that he seems to refuse to eat out of a bowl. He always wants to eat directly from the ground. Especially when he has fish, it's such a mess! That's probably another difference between "real" house cats and (former) stray cats. He was used to eating on the streets and not from a bowl/plate. Same with drinking, he exclusively drinks from a bucket, not from a bowl. It's quite funny how cats have a these "weird" traits and you'll be annoyed by them yet at the same time you love them so much. I am annoyed by the fishy kitchen floor and then wipe the floor clean after him with so much love. 

But overall it's just an amazing experience to be cat owners. We feel very blessed that he chose our home and we're so grateful to give him a home he deserves. Even though the stray cat part will always be present in him somewhat, that's ok. He's just so affectionate and sweet overall. Having grown up with cats, it's kind of funny how I sometimes compare it to previous cats my parents had, and how every cat is so unique. I loved being around cats growing up and I love for my children that they have the same experience.