Lynn Farrell’s daughter has always been an animal lover, so she was pleased when the family relocated to a new house near a huge cat colony.
Farrell’s daughter would pet and feed any animal she sees, but because the cats are wild, Farrell is never concerned that one of them will come into the home.
She was wrong.
Farrell put her kid to bed early one night recently, expecting the typical squabbles. Instead, her daughter said, “OK, Mom.”
“I was instantly concerned, as any mother would be, when she agreed to go to bed so quickly,” Farrell told The Dodo. “When I opened the door, they both looked up, as if to say, ‘Oh crap, we’ve been caught.’”
Farrell noticed a huge orange cat cuddling with her kid under the covers. While her mother was cooking supper, the little girl sneaked the cat inside and relocated a litterbox from the bathroom into her closet, along with some food and drink.
And that wasn’t the first time they’d had a sleepover.
“I could see they had a particular connection immediately away,” Farrell remarked. “He made a wise choice in his new human. So they both went to bed warm, happy, and snuggling after a wash and a brush.”
Farrell took the cat, called Pumpkin Jr., to the doctor, where he was dewormed and flea-treated. And, after inquiring around, they realized that Pumpkin Jr. was an outdoor cat owned by their neighbor across the street.
Pumpkin Jr.’s owners have granted permission for the cat to see his young sister every day, and their sleepovers have continued.
“He is so nice and purring all the time – I don’t believe I’ve ever heard him stop,” Farrell said. “Her room is his realm, and [he’s] warned our other three cats not to enter his human’s chamber.”
“I suppose I now have a fourth cat,” she said.
Link to Paws Daily