In Orlando, near the UCF campus, I lived on the ground floor. My apartment was on the back side of the building and backed up to a wooded area.

A girl from the third floor of my building lost her ferret and had knocked on my door to see if I’d seen her friend. I hadn’t, but I bought a small bag of cat food and put some on my patio. I figured if the ferret found the food, I’d catch the ferret and return him to her. She didn’t have the same opportunity from a balcony, of course.

There were a lot of feral animals in that little patch of woods. Each evening, I’d watch opossums and raccoons and cats come to the patio to eat. I never did find my neighbor’s ferret, but I found love. Each night, after all the rest had had their fill, one smaller cat would come to the patio. I’d put out more food for the kitty I called Little One.