Tax Day is Tasha's "Birthday"

This is the anniversary of the first day we saw Tasha, in 2007.  Collarless, small, completely at home. I took pictures because she showed no inclination to leave (she spent the night, in fact, all over The Texan's face) and was going to put up signs in the neighborhood to find her proper home. But then Hans called over the back fence, and we were formally introduced.

She didn't like being handed back. She stayed with Hans about a week before we saw her again, and the rest is history. Every day she'd appear at the house and hang out, sleeping on the couch, following the kids around. In the evening, when I could see that Hans had come home from work, I would gently set her on the fence at a point she could jump down from into his yard, and shoo her towards his house.  My rule was I'd keep doing this until midnight, (and often had to do it two or three times) and then it was okay to give up and let her stay over.  (Despite leaving notes for him asking him to call for her at night, I rarely heard Hans try to collect her. His number was unlisted so I couldn't call him.)

After a while, the clever cat learned that if she came in through the cat flap (which at this point Harry had not yet mastered) and curled up quietly in a corner, I wouldn't notice that she was there until it was too late to kick her out. (More than once, I'd find no evidence of her in the house, but about 10 minutes after turning off the bedside light, there would be a thump and a purring furry body at my feet. She has that habit even today.)

She must really have been born sometime 15 or more weeks before this photo was shot, around Christmas, but we already had so much celebrating going on then (and Abby-cat's official "birthday" on Dec. 25) that to spread out the joy, we shifted her to this day. In her honor, tonight we are having rhubarb crisp, and she will get a double helping of Ocean Whitefish and Tuna in a Can.