Popeye is very much the shop cat.
For those who don’t know the story, he was the king tom in and around the neighbourhood for all of his youth, ruling the area behind Bookmongers with unwearying diligence. Even now in his retirement, the hammerhead testosterone magnificence of his wide neck tells the story of his kingship.
When he decided that he was ready to step down from his responsibilities, he began lurking at the back door of Bookmongers. His followers and challengers kept court with him but also allowed him his space. Over that first summer, Bookmongers people gave him food and water out in the yard. As winter approached, Popeye started to venture over the threshold and started the steady process of colonising the interior of the shop. It wasn’t long before he was given a bed, and in return permitted the occasional touch of human hand. Under duress, he was taken to the vet and sorted out, and then came back to the shop and finally stepped down from his duties and slept the sleep of the just.
So his days continued. He only allowed one person to touch him, greeting every other human with malevolent gaze, hiss and sneer, resorting to low growl if the hand came close.
All this was in the Before Times. When the first lockdown happened and the shop closed, there was concern about what would happen to Popeye. He couldn’t go to any Bookmongers’ homes because they had cats.
So he came to my house. For three nights Popeye hid under the bed, not even venturing out for food or water or peeing. I tried everything I knew, but nothing I tried was a match for his feral street smarts and caution.
It was decided that he would go back to the shop, and the Bookmongers people would commute in to visit with him every day. So every day during all the lockdowns, someone would go and hang out at the shop for several hours to make sure he was okay, feed him, freshen his water, and hang out with him. By all reports, he enjoyed the peace and tranquility.
As a consequence of his three days under my bed, he does allow me to approach him but only in great reverence and respect, and only when he deems it acceptable. On occasion, he has even greeted me with pleasure, albeit scanty and brief.
So, although it’s doubtful Bookmongers people will be able to help directly with Handsome Cat, they may have an idea about how to find him a good home.
Having said that, I should also say that I’ve had two cats turn up stray in my garden and it was tricky to find homes for them.
One of them, a three legged gent., was chipped but it turned out that the people associated with the chip had surrendered him to the vet who’d treated his injured leg. Apparently they were terrible irresponsible owners and the vet didn’t want the cat to go back to them. He adopted the cat with the intention to rehome him, so resisted bonding with him. As a consequence, his local roaming went further and further til he ended up in my garden for several months. He’d started near Josephine Avenue and ended up near New Park Road. That’s some extensive roaming. It took a while to track down the vet, but when I did, he was delighted to have his cat home, and the sensible heart- guarding crumbled and they’re now boon companions. Also, he doesn’t roam so far and has taken to retirement with easy pleasure.
The other one, a coquettish youngster, wasn’t chipped but had been spayed. I suspect she ran away from a home that didn’t suit her. She tried to charm her way into my house but once it was clear that her intention was to oust Cat (who was spending more and more time away from home) and insert herself as Queen Coquette, I started seeking a new home for her. Eventually, she was adopted by a friend and his wife, neither of whom had ever lived with a cat before. I had my reservations, because Queen Coquette is very Main Caharacter. However, I had to trust the Cat Distribution system and since every other adoption had fallen through, this one had to be the right one. And so it has proven to be. She’s still very Main Character (even the spelling of her name had to be changed back to what it was when she was with me, such is the power of her will) and they all adore her.
Eric Jarvis While you wait for his new home to be found, would you consider setting up an outside place for him to be warm and safe? A large box with a small entrance at the front and a second escape hatch on the side with blankets inside. Escape hatch it’s important in case another cat corners him inside the box.
Someone I know built a really elaborate outside nest for a feral cat, with slabs of polystyrene on all sides to keep the cold out. Feral cat (named FatFace for his testosterone blown neck) was very happy in there, and when my mate moved away he took FatFace with him and he never did want to live indoors, even though he could.
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