Unexpected night guests

Last night I woke briefly to find a cat in my face. Although this is not unheard of in our house, there was something just not quite right about this one. He looked like Captain Whizbang, he even acted a litttle like Captain Whizbang. But when I went to pet his ears, something was off. His head was too small and bony, for one thing. When I ran my hand down his side, he was just too darn skinny for another. Our cats are so well fed, that they have the glow and feel of well-sated seal blubber. This cat was a bit "scritchier".

There is a neighborhood cat that looks uncannily like our Captain Whizbang. Except that,well, he's smaller and scritchier. N-cat (we'll call him that - short for Neighborhood cat) has been hanging around our kitchen door for about a week now. There have even been a few nose-pressed-to-the-glass moments. He really is so cute , but we are FAR from the market for another cat. We had just been thinking of an outdoor place to feed our cats to get them out of the house before N-cat started hanging out here and Andrew and I both remarked upon our good fortune that we had not yet done it.

But, now he's in the bed. And it's dark and cold out there, yet so cozy in the flannel sheets. I hope someone showed him where the litter box is.