Behind The Bush In The Garden There Lies A Cat

We had a very cold spell around here not too long ago: bitter wind, below-zero temps, some snow. It's nothing too unusual for this time of year. What's unusual about it is that there seems to be a new addition to our house: a black cat. It's been around the neighborhood for a very long time; Julian says it's been around since he moved in a few years ago. I don't know that I ever paid much attention; there have always been a lot of cats roaming our neighborhood.

A week or so ago, when it was especially cold, we noticed that the cat was in the garden, behind a big tall bush, huddled up against the house. It didn't seem right that whoever owned the cat would make it stay out on such a cold night; and, if it didn't have an owner, it was pretty cold out. The cat spooked easily, and ran off. We decided that it could probably use some food (we have 2 cats inside, so food wasn't an issue), and it needed something warm. So we found a box, and put in several old towles that we were planning to get rid of anyway.

The first night it seems that the cat just enjoyed the food, and not the box. It took about 4 days for the cat to get into the box. Now he seems to have moved in. (I use the generic 'he,' as I don't know if it's a he or a she. ) He's been there every day, for hours at a time. I've not been feeding it too much, as I don't want to be responsible for it (and I feel guilty when I say that, that's why I keep putting food out ever few days) What to do? I don't know, but, hopefully, you will enjoy the photo: