So.. Sooty was a black cat, right? Just guessing giving the name.

Inky is black too (quelle surprise). He's nearly all black except for very tiny tuft of white on his abdomen. His whiskers are even black. So are his toes! I adore him. He has a very soft purr that you can only hear if you are holding him or leaning very close to him. When he plays attack cat with you, he keeps his claws in. When the dog tries to chase him, he stands up on his hind legs and waves his paws in the air as if he's holding up his dukes and getting ready to box. He looks a bit like a kodiak bear!

Inky belonged to a nice lady from Sri Lanka who lives a few blocks from us. It seems her boyfriend locked him out of the house by accident (or maybe on purpose?) one day and Inky became a Hobo Cat wnadering the streets looking for refuge and some vittles. His original name was Joseph or "Baby Joey".

Somehow, Inky arrived at our yard and took shelter under our cottage. it was the only place he could go where the other neighborhood cats would not follow to beat him up. I took pity on him and began coaxing him into our house.

One day a few months after he arrived, the nice lady from Sri Lanka came round asking if anyone has seen her Baby Joey. I immediately relaized it was Inky and told her. I promised to catch him and call her. When I did, her boyfriend came round. He barely looked at inky and said "Nope, not him." Dave and I were sad about that because we knew it was Inky and that he'd simply grown up. Cats do that.

After failing to repatriate Inky, we adopted him and he adopted us. He's now very much part of the family. We figured the chances of him ever going back to his real Mamma were slim to none until....

One day a week or so ago, the Sri lanken lady was walking by our house and saw Inky basking in the sun. She shouted "Joseph! Joseph! it IS you" and scooped him up. While she was smoething him with kisses, the boyfriend kept saying "It's not him!"

Long story short, we established Inky is Joseph and decided to share custody. Inky reamins with us and she unlimited visiting privliges. Eventually, he may return to her full time, but not for a while. She has to go back to Sri Lanka for a few months. When she comes back, we'll iron it all out. I suspect he'll stay with us forever. If she takes him home and lets him out again, he'll come running back to our yard. When both his real Mamma and I call to him, he comes to me.

So, you see, Inky does have quite a story and should be immortalized in song.