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About a year ago, we were watching television when I heard a very distressed cat outside. It had been snowing and was fairly cold. I went outside, and this fluffy orange tabby was in our backyard crying very loudly.

I tried to coax him toward me, but he was extremely timid. Eventually, he came closer until he was within touching distance. He let us pet him a little but then ran off. The next day, we posted pictures around the local area and asked all the neighborhood if they were missing a cat, but none of them were.

Over the year, he has come back almost every night for food; one of our neighbors was also feeding him and had made a bed in his barn for him, where we know he spent most of last winter.

As summer turned into autumn, I started to shout to him (he had been named by our kindly neighbor) to let him know his food was ready. He would come running and would also sit patiently waiting for his food if we were not on time! Even so, by this time, we could see all the bones defined under his fur, and I was worried about him.

In the middle of October, we had a really cold snap, and I said to my husband that we should increase our efforts to try to get him inside the house; I did not think he would survive another winter.

Tom-Tom seemed to trust my husband more, and he would let him sit by his side when he ate. After three weeks of trying, one night he just suddenly walked into the house, sat on the mat and ate his food quite calmly. He let us pet him, and he even stayed the night a few nights later.

Since then, we have had him checked over by the vet and he has been given a clean bill of health, has filled out nicely, and has become the third member of our cat family. Now we just have to get the other two to accept him properly.

Story submitted by an anonymous user from Carleton Place, Canada.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!