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Zilinski

Pets

Tom Cat

Tom Cat is our resident alley cat. I've petted him, but don't feed him. He is obviously somebody's cat, because he isn't skinny and is very friendly. He doesn't mind the dogs, who bark at him while he teases them by staring at them in a ha-ha-like way through the chain link fence out back.

About once a month, I bring TomCat into the house to give him a bath and clean his ears. He hates baths, but has never scratched me. I check him for fleas; he's never had any during my checks, hinting, again, that he is somebody's cat. His ears are always a dirty mess, though. It usually takes a whole paper towel and six cotton swabs to get the dirt out. I've treated him for ear mites, but I think it might just be plain old dirt.

Because I don't know TomCat very well, he's not allowed to play with my cats. I don't know if he has FeLV, for instance, and he has no tags, so I'm not sure if he's up-to-date on vaccinations, either, and I wouldn't want my cats getting him sick (or vice-versa).

It's tough being an alley cat:

 

♥

Tom Cat

the Wild

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