New arrival at our house

This week I thought would be OUR week...that is a week away with Jimmy, on our bikes riding through the Smoky Mountains, stopping along the way to enjoy the cool mountain streams, a little hiking and perhaps seeing a bear or two...NOT a bear in a cage, but a brown bear running free. It's a beautiful time of year there and the weather has cooled enough to make the trip very enjoyable. School is back in session so it's not so crowded there either.

Unfortunately our neighbors had their own plans of getting away this week and rented a cabin in the Smoky Mountains for their family and asked us to watch their home and their 4 dogs. They didn't ask us until two days before they left, so what could we say since our plans are ALWAYS flexible. We really don't mind and have so enjoyed the quietness of their absence so much that it's almost like being on vacation right here at home. Their dogs have also enjoyed their absence because I haven't heard them bark at all...not once.

They failed to mention that they had a kitten...or maybe it's not theirs. But the day after they left the kitten appeared at our doorstep. It's so sweet and such a lovable little thing and our cats and it are not total strangers...they know it. There is a little growling from the kitten, but just a little and the only time it hisses is when the tomcat approaches. Our female cats don't usually allow strange cats in our yard, of course unless it's a handsome large tomcat. They may be fixed, but they're not blind you know!!

The little gray kitten has made herself/himself at home here and learned VERY quickly where the food and water are kept. I found that a little strange for such a young kitten to remember, the first time I showed her where the food was kept, because as soon as she ate I put her back over the fence into her own yard. I also had carried her to the food so she didn't find it on her own either, but later in the afternoon when she was hungry again, there she was...eating from the food dish. I'm beginning to think that she has been coming over here to eat during the late night hours under cover of darkness.

Well I certainly hope that she belongs to our neighbors, because if she doesn't....she'll have a home right here. She has already won over our hearts and even if she does belong to the neighbor, she will be welcomed here anytime.

She looks like a little bear. I was going to ask you what you thought we should call her but Jimmy just stopped in to tell me that he has named her "Little Bear." He is going to be so hurt when the neighbors return and tell us that this is their little house cat...and so will I.

I made the picture collage above for the neighbors so that they can see that their sweet "Little Bear" has been cared for in their absence...even though they forgot to mention that they had a cat.