that he needs that much food. Try feeding him twice a day, and see how much he eats." It was Denise who finally named the cat. “ Let’s call him Beau,” she said dreamily. We often let Beau outside during the day, but he always returned when we called him. “ Beau! Beau!" we’d yell, then watch as Beau shot a straight line for home—in hopes of getting an extra meal. In the evenings, Beau curled up with us on the couch. At night, when we stretched and turned off the television, Beau continued to head for the porch. He always slept there, even during cold, snowy December nights. Finally, Denise decided to cure Beau of his porch-sleeping habit, and she carried him to bed with her one night. Beau liked this even better. But when Denise, who had read that indoor cats are healthier and live longer, decided Beau should become an indoor cat, Beau rebelled. Evidently he had only been looking for a place to spend his nights. “Why is that cat howling at the door?” my father yelled. “Jason, put him outside." Even Denise didn’t complain, for she couldn't stand the wild howls Beau emitted any more than the rest of us. Denise fed Beau canned cat food morning and night, but he often begged for more when she got home from school. “ No, Beau, you can’t eat now," she told the cat soothingly. Beau responded by heading straight to the door for a howl session. These invariably ended with one of us putting Beau outside. Later we learned that one of our neighbors had fed Beau when he was a stray. She didn't know that we had adopted Beau, so she continued to feed him whenever
he came by. Then Beau, who thought watching television was a bad habit, initiated games of hide-and- seek with us at night. Hopping off the couch, he crouched on the carpet in a playful position. Then he hid, often behind the couch, and waited to be fished out. His antics mobilized the entire family—even Dad—as we chased him around the house, searching and laughing. Finally we had everything a family could possibly want—a house of our own, a loving family, and our very own pet, at last.