Guess who's home?!

YUP! It's been an unbelievably long cold 3 months, but Niko is finally home!

I received a message on Sunday from a woman who saw a few of our signs hanging around town saying she thinks she's seen Niko and has been feeding him off and on for a few months. I tried not to get to excited b/c we've received a few calls already but none turned out to be him.
Also, we didn't tell anyone this but our neighbors who were helping us with the trap called a little less than a month ago saying they saw an animal on the side of the road with colors & markings similar to Niko. After that, we stopped seeing him and I hate to say it but I had begun to give up hope.

Anyways, when I called her back she told me she had been talking to him each time he came around and then finally after a few months of coaxing, he came over to her and she was able to pick him up! (and yet when he saw us a month ago he ran?!)
She said that he'd most likely be back around dinner time (now that sounds like him! Ha!) and when he was, she'd scoop him up, give me a call and put him in the bathroom till I got there. 5:00 rolled around and the phone rings. It's her and she has him. Adam was sick with an awful stomach bug that I had the day before so I had to go by myself. I joked that if I wasn't back in 20 mins, it was a setup and to call 911. But seriously, you never know. I grabbed my camera (in case I didn't recognize him, I planned to snap a pic and show ads), cell phone and carrier and ran out the door.
As I drove to the house, a million things raced through my mind. Would he recognize me? Would I recognize HIM? What if he's sick, would be able to keep him? Is he going to hide in the basement for months? Will he be a skiddish mess? How's he going to act with Little A? When he left she was barely walking and now she's everywhere.

I walked in the house not knowing what to expect. I see little ball of matted fur lying on the floor, bend down to look at his face and sure enough, it's him!

His cute little face looked the same and he was completely recognizable despite the utter mess he was in. His purring let me know he recognized me too! My heart immediately melted and I broke down crying in the living room of this strangers home.

I couldn't bring myself to hold him right away. He looked so fragile (and dirty), so I had my new friend help me put him in his carrier. Like most cats, he's never been a fan of it and we'd usually wind up having to shove him in it before vet appointments. But this time he walked right in and laid down; he wanted to go home.

Later that night before even letting him out of his cage, Niko & I made a trip to the Veternairy Emergency of Manchester. The Docs were shocked that he made it through the second snowiest winter New Hampshire has ever seen.
He's bald on both sides of his neck from the mattes he had all over his body as well as a few other bald patches on his side. He's down from 14 lbs to 9 lbs with every bone in his body protruding and has wounds all over from ticks/bugs and or fights (it's hard to tell from the picture). But overall, he's doing pretty well. After a rabies booster, a few scripts for antibiotics & tick meds, we were sent home.

I felt horrible making the poor little guy who had already been through so much spend his 1st night home in the bathroom, but until he was groomed in the a.m., we couldn't let him roam the house.






















Following a nice shave and flea/tick bath he's home resting. He's surprisingly still super friendly and gentle. If he's not eating, he's sleeping. I can't even imagine how exhausted and weak he is.
We picked him up a nice new cat bed that he refuses to sleep in. I was able to snap this one picture of him after I put him in it and tried to convince him to like it. He hasn't been back in it since.

So, if you've read this far, you're a good friend! ;-)
Thanks to everyone who has prayed and sent well wishes throughout the past 3 months. They worked!