Salem, a black cat (of course) was taken into the care of our family almost three years ago now. We have no knowledge of where he was born, when he was born, where he lived, or even what kind of family he lived with. We do know for sure that he was a domestic cat as he was declawed on all four paws.
     After hanging around our house for 2 months, we saw progressively more and more of him, especially when we fed him some dry dog food on occasion. He devoured it voraciously. We did all we could to find out if he had owners or not, but we recieved no evidence on the matter. As winter was nearing we decided to take him in. A skittish cat if there ever was one, he is still suspicious of newcomers and visitors, hastily taking cover under the couch. Only recently, in the past year, he seems to have become more at ease and comfortable. About time. though with all the cuddling and smothering we submit him too we can't exactly blame him for seeking occasional solitude ;) . His days of sleeping in our hedge and sneaking around our house are behind him. He has come to enjoy the reliable source of food, catnip, and shelter (even if he is constantly harassed). Salem is even on good terms with our 2 large dogs :D I even think they would be lonely without each other XP.

     We all acknowledge how lucky we are that this unbelievably soft and adorable cat found us and chose our hedge as shelter. He may shrug us off at times and seem to only appreciate us for our provision of food, but that seemingly aloof nature and better than thou personality evaporates in the late hours and around supper ;) at these times he can be found seeking our affection (even if it is a bribe, we love it), shoe hunting, and singing in all his emasculating cuteness.