# Ziggy Stardust.



## jcm411 (Mar 31, 2012)

Hello everyone! Meet Ziggy (and me I suppose). 











Back in the beginning of October, I came home from work one night and this little guy was at my front door meowing up a storm. I thought nothing of it, as I live in a rural area and see lots of stray farm animals all the time (which is disheartening, because back when I first found this poor kitty, I had read in the paper the previous week that here where I'm from, the humane league has cut workers and general help and have been forced to euthanize more and more animals as the resources needed to maintain the shelter have been steadily declining.) For many years I also lived in Philadelphia, and as you all know, stray cats there are more abundant than anything else, so I was kind of used to ignoring the cries of a hungry kitten. (The above picture was taken a day or two after I found him)

The next day (a Sunday), I had a lot of yard work to do, and guess who didn't budge an inch since the night before? Yep, Ziggy. He found his home, apparently. He was so cute that day, following me around everywhere in my yard (and I have a big 3 acre lot of land) while I picked up sticks, chainsawed a couple branches off trees, etc etc. He wouldn't leave me out of his sight! That did it in for me, I was hooked. He was very small and very skinny, I suspect no more than a couple months old (vet placed him at no more than 6 months when I eventually took him in). 

After a bit of yard work, I walked up my deck stairs and inside and the little bugger followed me up the steps and waited outside the sliding glass door for me, meowing/crying ever so softly. I felt terrible, so I opened up a can of tuna for him, got him a fresh bowl of water, cut a cardboard box down and laid an old towel inside of it for a makeshift bed for the little guy, and put it out on the deck for him. He scarfed the food down instantly, sat in the box, and just stared at me. Stared with those little molten eyes of his, and I was sold. I've never had a cat before, and after making the mistake of feeding him and giving him a soft place to lay his head (despite it being somewhat cold outside), I realized he's not going to go away. 

So I spent a little time checking him out. His eyes and nose were clean, his claws and pads were clean of dirt, grime, and bugs. I checked his coat and he didn't have any fleas, ticks, etc. Overall, he seemed healthy, just malnourished. 

And now to finish the long, boring story I just subjected you all to, I took him in. My, how he's grown!

He's all gray (and blue?!) from head to tail except for a small little white spot below his neck which is kind of shaped like a star. Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is what I decided to name him, Ziggy for short (or shitbrains when he's being bad). 

Here are a couple more pictures of the little bugger. 




















I realize without proper documentation there's no way to tell what kind of cat he is. Considering he randomly showed up at my house one day causes me to think he isn't any special kind of breed, but, doesn't he resemble a blue chartreux in some specific ways?

He's a pretty darn smart cat too. He opens doors, talks to me when I pose questions to him (must be the tone of my voice when posing a question), and he's certainly the champion of slaying stink bugs. He's very much attached to me, follows me from room to room and won't let me out of his sight. While he detests cuddling, he likes to know that I'm near him. I wish he liked to cuddle  I'm actually somewhat excited for the summer, as the battle against stink bugs has just gotten that much easier (he HATES stink bugs). 

Anyways, there you have it, now I'm just babbling.


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## KittehLuv'n (Feb 19, 2011)

Awww, thank you for taking Ziggy in. I love his full name too 
He chose you for sure :smiles


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

Ain't it nice to have a real friend? 

He looks a lot like Guy, the outside cat I feed (one of these days I'm gonna get some pics). Guy will come inside, but hates the door being closed. He won't eat if it is and scratches at the door jam to get out.

You're right though, except that you didn't put it this way, it wouldn't be hard to get a house full of cats. Take care, they're addictive.


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

What a lovely boy he is, and a lovely story too.


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## jcm411 (Mar 31, 2012)

KittehLuv'n said:


> Awww, thank you for taking Ziggy in. I love his full name too
> He chose you for sure


I see it the same way, he chose me to take care of him so how can I do anything but honor the poor little helpless creature's request? 

He's not so bad. Last night he actually cuddled with me for the first time ever for a good 10 minutes or so. Best 10 minutes of my life. Sure beats sex ten-fold. 





Okay...that last statement might be a stretch. 



jusjim said:


> Ain't it nice to have a real friend?
> 
> He looks a lot like Guy, the outside cat I feed (one of these days I'm gonna get some pics). Guy will come inside, but hates the door being closed. He won't eat if it is and scratches at the door jam to get out.
> 
> You're right though, except that you didn't put it this way, it wouldn't be hard to get a house full of cats. Take care, they're addictive.


One cat is absolutely enough. I have no intention or interest in acquiring additional cats, Ziggy is enough for me. I've been a dog person my whole life. My lab, Chloe, died about 3 years ago and I've had a giant hole missing in my life for those three years. Ziggy just happened to stumble upon me at the right time, and while I won't say the void has been completely filled, it's definitely nice to have an animal around who loves you. I still have intention in buying another lab, just waiting for the right one to come through (I'm particular with dogs, my dog will have to be purebred with papers to prove it). 



Abbie said:


> What a lovely boy he is, and a lovely story too.


Thank you Abbie. He can be a little stinker at times though, you have no idea :cussing

He loves cheese. Is it bad to give a cat cheese?


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

jcm411 said:


> He loves cheese. Is it bad to give a cat cheese?


as long as you don't give him enough to give him diarrhea. And a bonus is: if it is given as a treat occasionally, it can make it easier to sneak a pill into when you need to..

He is a pretty boy, glad you are enjoying his company


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Ziggy is beautiful and I loved reading your story! I'm so glad to hear when people step up like you did. 

Now that he's "yours," are you keeping him inside or is he going in and out? Just wondered how a formerly outside cat would acclimate to being inside all the time.

Congrats, you did a great thing.

P.S. Love your stone fireplace.


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

Lovely story! He knew what he was doing. He is a very handsome boy


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## jcm411 (Mar 31, 2012)

BotanyBlack said:


> as long as you don't give him enough to give him diarrhea. And a bonus is: if it is given as a treat occasionally, it can make it easier to sneak a pill into when you need to..
> 
> He is a pretty boy, glad you are enjoying his company


I don't give him much at all, very small pieces. What's funny (to me at least) is how dearly I love cheeses and how he's taken akin to my same guilty pleasures. 

A few weeks back I noticed white rice-sized worms coming out of his anus, so I called the vet and bought a deworming pill from them. When I took his stool sample in a few weeks later to have it examined he came out clean. Just as you said, I tried giving him the pill straight and he wouldn't take it, but when I wrapped it up in a little piece of cheese he gobbled it up like a Thanksgiving feast. 

Yes, I had him dewormed back in October, too. And thank you, his company is greatly enjoyed (I just love tormenting him). When I get aggressive with him he gets aggressive right back, but he has not once drawn blood. He'll playfully nip and bat at me because he knows I won't be overly aggressive to the point I cause displeasure or pain upon him.



October said:


> Ziggy is beautiful and I loved reading your story! I'm so glad to hear when people step up like you did.
> 
> Now that he's "yours," are you keeping him inside or is he going in and out? Just wondered how a formerly outside cat would acclimate to being inside all the time.
> 
> ...


Thank you.

He's inside the majority of the time, but he does enjoy being outside. He'll try to sneak outside when I open up the doors so I generally just let him. More often than naught, he'll walk around the house a bit, scouting things out making sure everything is okay, and will come back to the door within 5-10 minutes. I've noticed he really enjoys rolling around on the driveway -- I guess that feels good? 

The fireplace is still somewhat new, only being a few years old. A friend of mine reconstructed a very old barn from the 1700's into a fully functioning house, and the mantle piece on my fireplace is one of the original supporting beams from the barn. If I had pictures of the barn I'd show you. It's incredible, to say the least, how good of a job he did. One of the nicest homes I've ever been inside of.



shan841 said:


> Lovely story! He knew what he was doing. He is a very handsome boy


Thank you shan, I appreciate the compliments. 

I'll post up a few more pictures of Ziggy in the near future.


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

It was a great story.


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## Cats Rule (Sep 18, 2010)

He sounds and looks like an awesome cat. You made no mistake. You did what your heart told you to do and you won't be sorry.

I've had cats that cuddled and some that did not cuddle. They each have their won personality. Try to enjoy him for who he is. 

My 2 cats sleep on the bed with me most nights. I can hardly roll over sometimes but I don't complain.


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

He may get more cuddly with time. My last cat didnt like laps until I had him for about 3 years. Prior to that, he would prefer sitting near me, but not touching.


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

My previous cat Meme would sit in my lap for hours, if I started to get up she would jump down without complaint, once I'd returned to my chair she'd return either to my lap or beside me or laying against my leg.
Samantha was never a lap cat but she liked to sit on the arm of my chair, Chiquita also is not a lap cat.
I've found with cats you just have to accept them for who they are, Samantha loved to play and so does Chiquita.


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## chuck72 (Jan 30, 2012)

Good, good job! You are awesome for taking in a stray cat. We took in a stray when I was a kid and she turned out to be one of the sweetest cats in the world. I look forward to hearing and seeing more of Ziggy. Beautiful kitty.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

chuck72 said:


> We took in a stray when I was a kid and she turned out to be one of the sweetest cats in the world.


I have the feeling that they understand and appreciate what's been done. After all, just about everybody here, I think, knows there's something strange and mysterious about cats.


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## jcm411 (Mar 31, 2012)

Update! A little more than one year later since the posted photos in the original post. 



















































































I fucking love him so **** much. Never thought I'd care this much about some cat either!


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## CurlyQRexluver (Sep 6, 2012)

not to be a creeper but the picture in the back looks really color, does it have a name so I can search it?


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

Ziggy is absolutely gorgeous! How are things going with him? Did you ever get your lab?


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## minikin44 (Aug 25, 2012)

Aww, I love him!! I think he looks a lot how my kitten Bear will end up looking (he's only 5-6 months old now) except with a bit longer hair. <3 Gotta love those gray boys!


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## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

I've got a gray kitty too, so I'm definitely biased - Ziggy is a gorgeous boy :}

I went through the whole "Chartreux??" thing with my cat too! However, gray/blue is a pretty common color for DAS cats - it's basically black, but diluted - so Ziggy is probably a moggie, just like my old girl is ;}


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

What a beautiful kitty! Love the pics of him all stretched out in the leather chair. It appears you've conceded all of your seating to Ziggy.


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## dlowan (Jul 13, 2012)

What a LOVELY little fella! You seem made for each other.


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