Leo’s story begins in mid to late 2014-early 2015 when we started going to the local park to walk a new family member, Harold the Wonder Dog, Periodically, we would notice a young ginger cat rummaging in the trash bins near the various pavilions. Since the park is adjacent to a large subdivision, we assumed he had come from there and had gotten lost. Unlike a true feral, he  could be approached. He did not seem to be afraid of humans but did not want to be touched or picked up. My wife and I compared notes and realized that he had been around the park for nearly two years. Since we already had 4 rescued cats (down from 5) we were acutely aware of his potential for a difficult life.

Deciding that we had to do something, we started bringing food and water each time we walked Harold. As the weather turned cold and wet, we added shelter and a dry place to stay. This went on for some time with us hoping to earn his trust. We tried trapping him twice but that never paid off. On our side of the park, our subdivision is separated by a 6′ concrete wall. A cul-de-sac across the street ends at that wall. However, on the other side of the wall was the part of the park that we had seen Leo the most. (by this time we had named him Leo for the lion-like fur around his face). On closer inspection, we discovered an opening under the wall that was large enough to admit a cat.. At that point, we thought he might belong to someone on that short street. We felt a little better, thinking that someone was taking care of him.

All this time, we were hoping that he would at least find a way into a garage (ours) for the winter. Imagine our surprise when, one day, we happened to look out a front window just as a ginger tail went by. We said, ‘Gee, that looked like Leo but it couldn’t be, could it?’ We went out side and sure enough, he was walking by.

From there, we fed him on the front porch until one day, he discovered the ‘catio’ in back. He then took his meals there and the rest is history. We have illustrated Leo’s journey in the galleries below, starting with pictures in the park, our back yard, tentative acceptance of our home, introduction to the enclosure that would allow us to get him to our vet and, finally, a permanent spot in his ‘furever’ home.