Speckles is smoochy!
It's February 2026. I have now been feeding wild cat Speckles for just over four years, as regularly as he bothers to turn up. There was an important breakthrough in our relationship last week. So exciting. Speckles actually walked over my lap! AMAZING!
Hello Speckles
For three mornings in a row he was on his cottage verandah chair waiting for breakfast. So naturally I took my early cup of tea back to the cottage to sit with him.
Super-smoochy
Each morning he was super smoochy, bunting my hands, wanting them to pat him. Then he would walk over my lap and around my back, again and again. Always anticlockwise (not sure this is relevant to cats). No hissing, no biting my elbows if they dared to stick out.
Speckles is Smoochy
I wondered if it was some feral rite of ownership, even companionship. Anyway, it made a joyous, uplifting start to my day (it doesn't take much). He stood on me! But too soon reality (as opposed to Speckles) bit me on my gardening shorts bottom. For the next three night-mornings he didn't bother to turn up. Back to normal-random. Humph. Never, ever get too emotional about a feral cat.
Status - 'fixed'
One good thing though - I took a sneaky photograph of his back end, so the vet could check his 'status'. Yes, just as I'd thought, my lovely sometimes-smoochy Speckles has definitely been 'fixed', perhaps as part of a Trap Neuter Return programme in the distant past.
Speckles in a Good Mood
P.S. In order to comply with the privacy settings of this website, the aforementioned photograph will NOT be published.