So if Tiger is 16 and showed up in 2006 he (she?) was just a yearling or thereabouts at the start of the story.
In 1998 two feral juvenile DSH brother and sister showed up on my doorstep out in the woods. Fed them outside for a couple weeks, and eventually took them in. The girl stayed pretty wild and wary, lived to about 16. The boy bonded with me and became my best friend. He disappeared one time for over two weeks, and when he came back he looked like hell, probably had a run-in with a bigger critter. But he swaggered in with a "Yeah but you should see the other guy" look in his eye. He passed away at 19 and I still miss him like crazy.
Thanks for sharing the story. Brought back good memories.
A “he.”
Sitting between my feet as I type.
5.56mm
In 2011 we trapped and brought in five ferals in the neighborhood — three babies and two adults. We could see the raccoons licking their chops and figured the cats wouldn’t survive outdoors.
One of the babies is at Rainbow Bridge, but the others are still with us. The two “babies” — now 11, are cuddle bugs. Their mother is pretty wild still. The fourth is somewhere in between. She’ll have an isotope treatment for thyroid in March.
Got a red haired cat spawn of a feral mother. They made the transition to Texas okay. Thunder, lightning and fireworks have been challenging.