The last two, almost three months have been a whirlwind. So I’m going to play a bit of catching up on life stuff. Before Thanksgiving 2025, I ended up taking in a stray cat. This little king was attracted to my house by our cat, which may go outside on a runner only for his protection. We found him sleeping in our barn/studio/man cave.

We started feeding him and trying to gain his trust. He ran from humans but would sit outside the window while my cat sat inside the window, mimicking each other. Then one day he showed up limping with one eye not responding to light. I went into save-the-kitty-momma-bear-mode, which of course he ran from. Silly me. It took another week to get inside (thank you, cold winter weather). We made a vet appointment, and it fell through because this little king (we named him Lucky) hid under our bathtub through the water heater closet.

He ran into our bedroom a few days after the first appointment was missed. However, we could shut the door and prevent him from leaving the bedroom. But it was an entire week by the time we got him to the vet. They told us he probably had a concussion, but his eye seemed fine. However, his front paw was useless, and he had no feeling in it. He can move it at shoulder level. Mr. V and I were totally on board with helping the little guy navigate this way. They sent us home with flea meds and instructions to watch him for any signs of him picking at the limb. He had hidden under Mr. V’s bed as we had blocked access to the bathroom, and it was easier to monitor food and water to make sure he was okay. Obviously, the litter box was an issue because he couldn’t get in or out of one, and we weren’t sure he knew what one was. The vet told us he was 2-3 years old. He weighed only 8 pounds.Now he still didn’t trust us. Once home, he fled under Mr. V’s bed. I would sit on the floor of the bedroom and try to offer him treats. Sometimes he would take them, and other times he wouldn’t, but I could hear him purring loudly as he ate from his dish in the early mornings. Here is one time I got a video of him. He wanted to trust, but just couldn’t yet.

Then we had to corral him again on the 24th of December to get him fixed. This time when he came home, I sat on the bed beside the carrier. Talking and giving him treats. He came out and let me pet him. He leaned up against me, wanting more attention. That night he slept with me. Over the next few days, he seemed to be slowly adapting. I realized that there was no way for him to use a proper litter box, so I gave him puppy pads and place privately for him to do his business.

As Christmas and New Year went by, he seemed to do all right. He stayed in my bed most of the time. We bought a ramp and some new beds and even a pen because we have two other animals. It helped with the introduction, and it kept him safe.

It was around this time I realized he started dragging his back foot on the same side. We went back to the vet, who realized he was losing all muscle on his right side. His right eye was affected as well. The vet was very honest with us. He will not get better. Even if we did a ton of diagnostics, it wouldn’t change the prognosis. So now we are keeping him comfortable and happy. He is a delight with his own way of communicating with us. I admit it’s a lot of work as I have to clean up puppy pads and make sure the other animals don’t eat his food or bully him. As long as he’s happy and comfortable, we will continue to do what we have been doing.