The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Just over a month ago, we decided it'd be a good idea to get a new cat.

We wound up with a wide-eyed little tabby from Black Dog Rescue. (Actually, he's mostly white, but he has a couple big tabby colored spots.)

For the first few days, he was a lump - he didn't move much, didn't eat anything, and made next to no noise, although he would purr loudly whenever he was petted.

In an effort to get him to come out of his shell, I would pry him out of his kennel and sit for hours with that lump on my lap, petting him constantly while watching documentaries on the Internet.

After a couple days, he...