Charlie

Name: Charlie

Nickname: Old Man Charlie

Breed: The young whipper-snappers only know I'm a DMH (Domestic Medium Hair)

Age: (estimated) 11 years old

Rank in Household: I am number one of the outdoors!

Favorite Activity: Hanging out in the great outdoors.

Favorite Thing: My hairbrush

Least Favorite Thing: Being inside - especially being inside to get a bath!  Don't they know I'd rather be filthy?
Bad Habit: Wandering.  Sometimes I wander off for a day at a time.  Mommy and Daddy don't seem to be really fond of this habit.

History of Charlie pre-forever home (from Mommy's eyes): He lived with a neighbor of ours for about 4 years... they got him from a pet emergency hospital.  Charlie was brought in to the pet hospital because he had been hit by a car. :(  It was evident when my neighbors took him in that he had obviously had a difficult life already (injured eye and back leg).  This cat was (and still is) quite a trooper!  He also had gone through his fair amount of health issues and fight injuries while being in the care of my neighbors.  Charlie started out as an indoor kitty with my neighbors, but due to health reasons, he gradually became an outdoor kitty.

How I became a part of the family (from Mommy's perspective):  A couple months after moving to our new home in 2010 I started to see a cat on our back porch (note: we have a fully fenced in backyard).  The cat did not look 'at risk' so I decided to just pet him just a little bit but not to feed him (because I knew he'd come back if I did).  Weeks passed and the routine was the same.  The same cat would come to our back porch and stay all day.  Day after day.  At this point I had to feed him - what am I?  heartless?!  So I decided to do a little investigating.  Since I live in a cul-de-sac that has lots of young kids, I decided to ask some of the little girls about this cat that obviously took a liking to me.  (We've been in this house now for 2 years and I have learned one important thing: if I want to know any neighborhood information, the little girls are the ones to ask!)  The girls knew exactly what cat I was talking, "That's Charlie."  They also knew who he belonged to - they pointed to a house in the cul-de-sac and told me the owners' last name. I knew I asked the right ones for the information.  Later that day, when my husband came home from work, I asked him to please go ask the neighbors if they wouldn't mind if we adopted Charlie as our own.  It seemed to be an answer to prayers because the family was actually trying to give him away.  

Now the old man belongs to this crazy family.  For the first little while, I tried to keep Charlie indoors.  We bathed him and let him roam around the house with Kramer and Boston.  It seemed to go relatively well for a little while.  Charlie would cry and cry to go outside but I wanted to try and get him use to the indoors, so I denied his requests.  Then came the defiance.  Charlie started urinating on the floor.  Fantastic.  This happened 3 times!  Then... he pooped on the floor.  "Okay, Charlie.  Have it your way" (as I open the door to let him out).  Old Man Charlie wins again.  I have even tried to let him have both indoor and outdoor time but nope, the Old Man isn't having any of that.  So now Charlie is a full-on outdoor cat.  "These young whipper-snappers can't tell me what to do." --Old Man Charlie

Even though Charlie prefers to be outside, we still would like him to be as comfortable as possible.  So my very talented husband built him a cat house that sits on our front porch.  It is great for him.  He can go in there any time he wants - and it makes us more comfortable knowing he has shelter when the weather is bad.

Charlie has to have more than 9 lives!  

Here is a list of just the known health and injuries he's had:

• A previous, unknown, injury to his back leg
• A previous, unknown, injury to his left eye which has left him partially (potentially even fully) blind in that eye.
• Hit by a car - and lived to tell the tale!
• Injured from a fight with a raccoon that ended him up at the vet.
• Anal glands impacting several times (had to visit the vet each time).  This is why Charlie began venturing outside in the first place - his previous owners said it completely fixed this health concern.
• At least 2 separate occasions where a neighborhood cat injured him in a fight.  He had an abscess on his side and one on his hind quarters.  (both these instances landed him at the vet)
• He also has a slight limp that is either due to his hip or a back leg.  We assume this is just a combination of old age plus all his violent history.

Video of Charlie loving his hairbrush (this video was made a short while after we first got Charlie)