Last summer, this adult cat showed up in our yard and started eating the bread I put out for birds. Didn’t seem like a stray, and I got the idea she’d been abandoned. Once she found the food, she stuck around. When it got cold, I made her a nest in the garage, but she still liked to wander around outside, and disappear for a day or two, even in the snow.
When it got really cold, I took her inside and set her up in my basement laundry room (by that point, I’d been giving her real food and water). At first, I felt bad about keeping her in, and started feeling like Leoben keeping Starbuck cooped up in the New Caprica apartment. So I started thinking of the cat as Starbuck.
In case you’re curious or concerned, the cat settled in really quickly. Daily, I’d put her in the garage with the door open so she could go if she wanted to. Now that warm weather is here, she goes outside, but she’s always back at the door after long. Point being, I’m not keeping her captive. In fact, she’s the one in charge here. Very Starbuck.