When the Sentinel’s new manager moved his family, including four children and his parents, they found a new purr-mament family member waiting for them - they just did not know it!

“A young, beautiful, silky-grey long-haired cat was apparently waiting for us,” said Gerald.  “We were pet free because of our schedules.  My eight-year-old daughter, Lucy, was desperate for a pet, anything furry, even a bunny. She was hopeful when her birthday rolled around that we would give her a pet to love on, but all she had was this rather aloof wayward cat.”

Grandmother, Sylvia, was the first to notice the cat. The night they moved in, his loud meow alerted her.  At first, she thought he was a local purr-owling neighbor, but the kitty kept coming back - always meowing. On the 3rd night, ‘Just in case he was hungry’ she fed the feline vocalist who she assumed was from the feral colony down the street.

You guessed it! After that first meal, the kitty was ready for the next meal – and the next. Grandmother Sylvia thought, “Oh no! Oh no.”  She knew where this was leading!

“I love all animals, and so do my four children, so they of course, where all excited about the furry visitor,” said Gerald.

One day, the grateful kitty showed up with the gift of a dead mouse. Because the cat was also the color of mouse fur, he was named, “Mouser”.

Once you name a pet, there is an unspoken law that you just adopted it.  All cats know this!

For months, the kitty arrived at mealtime and the children never approached it for fear of ending up like the porch mouse.  After three months Mouser began demanding affection as much as food, so Gerald purr-posely left the door open.  The diner curiously walked in but any movement from anyone he’d dart back out. Soon the cat mellowed, and his chosen family could pet him.  Lucy and Mouser quickly formed a strongest bond.  Her furry prince and friend allowed her to pick him up and he was quickly bestowed with free food, brushes, and treats.  

“Mouser came in the morning, meowed, ate, disappeared for the day, then he arrives back at night like a teenager,” laughed Gerald. “He is the smartest cat! He communicates when he wants inside by tapping on our front door until it is opened.  If we don’t hear him, he taps louder and adds meowing. He casually waltzes in, takes a big-long stretch and then investigates his food dish.  He has the audacity of meowing for fresh food to be added to any leftovers and he stands in front of the bathroom door indicating that he wants fresh water.  I tested his communication by leaving the water bowl either empty or full and it depicted his behavior. He is very trainable, so Lucy has taught him to stand on his hind legs for food treats. She uses a Da-bird toy to train him to jump. When he sees the toy, he darts across the room and jumps at it.  

Mouser is a vital part of the family; we are lucky that he chose us because we love his company and look forward to his life long as a family member raising the children. When we arrive home, he comes running to greet ‘his family’ home. We adore this cat.”

“Mouser is the cutest cat in the world,” said his youngest daughter, Lucy. “When he talks to me, I understand him because he says ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ with his meows. He makes me happy.”

The funny thing is that with Gerald’s color blindness he sees Mouser’s fur as a pink. I bet Lucy wished she did too!