A tale of two kitties.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

A little ginger feral cat joined us at the Ridge. I named him Ranger to stay with the Texas theme. The two cats seemed to have an uneasy truce.

And then, shortly before my son moved away, Tumbleweed disappeared. Week after week we'd go up and call for her, hoping she'd reappear. Finally, we had to resign ourselves to the idea that she was no longer alive. I won't lie, I was heartbroken. She just had the biggest personality of any cat I'd ever known.

Ranger came around frequently but usually kept his distance. I would put food in the bowl in the shed and walk away leaving the door open. He'd skirt well around me and dart into the shed to eat. If I got too close, he'd bolt. I was glad to have him around, but he was definitely not a friendly cat. And I missed Tumbles.

And then she reappeared! Acting like she hadn't been gone on a three-month walkabout. And I don't know how they worked it out, but the relationship between the two had changed.

No more truce, it was full-on love.

Mostly on Ranger's part. He just can't get enough of Tumbleweed. He stays pressed to her side like they are conjoined twins.

And she seems to be okay with that. They eat together without argument.

There are times when she appears to be tolerating him.

But then she will lick his head. I have a theory - when she first appeared, my son said there was a tiny kitten with her. And she had clearly had been pregnant previously when we took her to be spayed, even though she was barely old enough to have had them. The little kitten that had been following her never came around again, and we figured it hadn't survived. But maybe it did. Maybe this is that kitten, now grown. Maybe Tumbleweed in Ranger's mother.

He meekly accepts it when she gets rough with him, 

and goes right back to cuddling up with her. Whether that's what she wants or not.

And clearly, she loves him back. So yeah, we have two cats now.