Sharing my life with a cat with attitude

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Some of you who have known me from Bubblews days may know that the grey cat in my profile photo, the one with his tongue sticking out so rudely, is my lad Baloo. He is a cat who makes his own path through life, who loves who he wants to and refused to read even the abbreviated book of "How to be a cat". He goes missing for days or weeks at a time, comes home covered in scratches and swears at us, but then just as suddenly can become loving and affectionate. This afternoon my husband and I set out for a walk around the village, finally getting out after the rain that plagued us all morning. I'd been away all week and so hadn't seen Baloo since last weekend. I asked my husband when he'd last been around. And then, as we walked past the village recycling shop where Baloo acts as assistant shop keeper, we spotted him on a wall. We both popped over for a cuddle and a fuss and to check him over. He started to walk towards the pub where he likes to hang out, so I opened the door a crack to let him in. A deep voice inside welcomed him with a "Hello Baloo" and I shut the door and left him to his buddies. 20 minutes later we were home again and he was waiting for us. He came in, ate a couple of pouches of cat food and then I opened the door to let him off to continue his visits to his friends around the village. People ask us if he's our cat and we tell them "only legally" since ownership is not a concept that Baloo understands. We are his home base to which he returns for food and cuddles when his other options are closed and when he just wants a bit of fuss. Sometimes he stays all night, other times just a few hours and often he just eats and runs. He has his 'public' to get back to. This cat has responsibilities - places to go, people to see.