Spirit
There's a stray(?) cat that lives in/near my apartment building who I have affectionately come to know as "Spirit"...
Okay, so there are so many problems with that sentence!
First, I don't know if the cat is stray or not: It seems healthy enough, but then that could be the result of others who are like me and continue to feed it. Plus, it has all it's claws so it would probably be able to bag a mouse or a bird if it got hungry enough. I have no idea how old it is or if it's got all it's shots and I've learned the hard way that one needs to watch out for fleas with strays... so far no fleas.
*I used to feed milk to strays during college until I had the unfortunate experience of bringing fleas into my apartment one night on my pant legs. I discarded my pants on the floor beneath my bed and woke up with flea bites all over my legs. I washed my sheets but had more flea bites the next day because I'd neglected to wash the pants... ugh!
I don't know where it lives. I see it in the courtyard of my building or sometimes in my hallway. Does that mean it lives with someone in my building - possibly someone in my hall**? Perhaps, but if that's the case then I think they might want to be a little more careful about where their cat is going (did I mention the fleas?).
**I've never actually seen anyone let the cat in, but I know there's a cat that lives across the floor from me. I'm not suggesting the cat would be able to go through the door, down three flights, and open the front door to allow Spirit entrance, but perhaps one of the people living with the cat takes pity on Spirit... they do leave food in the hall sometimes!
I don't know what it is! Yes, it's a cat, but whether it's a male or female I've got no idea. This one is kinda my fault because it exposes itself on a regular basis when it's looking for a belly rub, but I'm typically so consumed with trying to make it purr that I don't think to investigate it's nether region to see what it may (or may not) have.
Finally, I don't know it's name. There's no collar and I've never heard anyone else address it so I don't know what I'm supposed to call it. So I call it "Spirit."
What I do know: it's an orange tiger cat with big orange/brown eyes and it's usually leery when it first encounters a person but that wears off fast once it identifies you. It's forever looking for affection and sometimes a bite to eat, and I never know just when I'll see it. It likes tuna and milk. I could see it every day for a week and then not see it again for a week and a half. That's why I call it "Spirit" - it reminds me of the Holy Spirit Who comes and goes as He pleases with no warning.
That's also why I don't have a picture - never enough notice to grab the camera and by the time I retrieve it, it could be gone.
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