An old cat

I brought Gimp the Cat in Tuesday. Gimp has been around the neighborhood as long as I've lived here. I call him Gimp because he has a bad leg or hip that causes him to walk with a stiff, awkward gait.

He looks like he's older than dirt, and over the past year he's gotten thinner and thinner. He was stretched out on the porch, barely moving in the heat, and he looked miserable. So I brought him in. I want to say he wandered in by himself sometimes a few years ago, but my memory may be wrong on that.

He ate voraciously when I put food down for him. I think he was abandoned here by someone who moved away, and he's had to forage for food. As he's gotten older, this has gotten harder and harder for him.

Last night I bathed him. He's never been good about grooming, and he had gotten filthy. He's part-Persian and he had matted hair with pieces of twigs and stuff trapoped in it. I've had a bit of experience in bathing cats and it's not really hard if a) you know what to do and b) the cat's too old and feeble to resist.

So he was clean and fed, and he had more energy yesterday than I think I've ever seen him display. And he stuck to me like glue. He would've slept with me, but Smudge growled at him from her position by my knees.

He's so thin it's obvious he's lost muscle mass, and I don't think he'll make it through the summer. But at least he'll spend his last days in a cool and confortable place.