We called him SsDF -- Siamois sans domicile fixe. He turned up at our home 10 months ago, very bedraggled, very wary of humans and clearly in need of a lot of TLC. All our dogs and cats have been strays who either just turned up on our doorstep or had been rescued by the local animal protection society. On one occasion we took in a gorgeous pedigree Irish setter abandoned by a neighbour in a field on a diet of dried bread in mid winter. He had basically been left to die after a road accident had badly crushed one paw. The neighbour was puzzled that we would want to look after his dog. "It's just a dog," he said. Well yes, he was just a dog. But even a dog deserves proper care.
All this to explain that of course we fed this new cat, gave him somewhere to sleep in the dry and generally looked after him. It wasn't easy as our own tom was in no mood to let a rival into the house and regularly beat him up and chased him away. So SsDF had to live outdoors, getting into the habit of turning up morning and evening for his food. For months we could not get near him he was so wary of people. But eventually we managed to win his confidence and last week our son and grandson were able to hold him long enough to spot the tattoo in his ear and eventually read it.
A quick visit to the local vet to consult the national cat database and there he was, not SsDF but Toto from the Ardeche. Last night his owner rang, hardly able to believe we'd found her cat after all this time. Over the moon doesn't describe it. "En une soirée , j'ai récupéré ma joie de vivre en même temps que l'espoir," she said.
He had run away last year while they were on holiday a good hour's drive from our home. They had done everything to find him, sticking up posters in nearby villages, posting on the web and even, his owner admitted, consulting a radiesthésiste (diviner) who told them he had been stolen but not where he was.
Today she and her husband drove the 160 km from Aubenas to fetch him. We shall miss him.
Glad to hear Toto is settled. It would be nice to think our St Bernard sent our new puppy to us - it was certainly perfect timing 
That is wonderful news! And Nikki, so many puppies get abandoned! You probably did everything you could to trace her owner? Maybe your St. Bernard sent her to your house because he knew that she would be well looked after…
I just heard from his owners that Toto has settled back into his home as though he’d never left.
What a beautiful cat - you must really miss him. We had a puppy turn up at our door step a couple of weeks ago - under nourished and covered in ticks and fleas. We lost our St Bernard a couple of months ago. She was 7 and had a bloated stomach - all very sad and sudden. We resisted rushing out to get another dog. I didn’t feel I could cope with another puppy (our other dog is 3 now, so over all that) and I had said I’d rather wait and get a rescue dog. So, it was rather an opportune time for this puppy to turn up on our doorstep. Anyway, the kids fell in love with it and within a few hours I had too. The first day we kept her outside, fed her and gave her a bed to sleep in and tried to find her owners. None of our neighbours know where she has come from. So, gradually she’s wormed her way into our house and affections (well it only took a day, so not so gradual really). Our black lab has really taken to her too - I was a bit worried she might be jealous, but she seems really happy to have company again and the puppy follows her everywhere.
We’ve all become really attached her (despite her not being fully house trained yet and chewing all the kids toys). But, I still know that she may have an owner out there somewhere looking for her. You’re tale has reminded me of this and I know I need to take her to the vets to see if she’s been chipped (can’t see any evidence of a tatoo). Really hoping she’s just been abandoned…
What an incredibly beautiful story! Thank you so much for sharing!
This story really made my day.