We have a new cat! Rather, one of the ferals has promoted himself to the status of housecat. It's Tupac, and a couple of weeks ago, he started meowing to come inside the house in the evenings. I figured it was because he was cold, and so he got to come inside a bit to be cuddled by Aaron or even occasionally, me, despite my allergies. He would fall asleep in a lap immediately. And drool.
Then we went to Taiwan for 2 weeks, and I think the balance of power shifted in the backyard from Tupac to Big Poppa, who took over the kitty hideaway that Tupac always used to stay in. So when we got back, Tupac started meowing to get in at all hours of the day and night. And so, he is now inside almost all the time. He never wants to leave, even when it's nice weather outside. He even has a litter box now, which he makes a royal mess of, desperately trying to cover his poop. But he uses it, and that's the most important thing! It probably doesn't help that it's the tiny kitten-sized litter box we had for the fosters.

What about my allergies, you say? Well, it helps that Tupac knows his place (for now) and listens when he's told to keep off the couch. He just lays on this blanket we had laying in the corner waiting to be washed, and kneads it. And the blanket is the color of dough, so it is very fitting.

I really wish I'd given him a better name than Tupac, if he is going to be our real housecat now...I was trying not to get attached to the ferals, and thus gave them all half-joking rapper names.
It's cool that his coloring is similar to Dwight's--black mostly, w/ white on his chest. He doesn't have white on his face or feet though.