Leo, my scrappin partner

Leo is a stray cat who I fed in the yard from a porch for about 18 months. I never petted him or tried to get close to him. I fed him and any other stray cats who came to eat. One day, he appeared on my back porch and the only way he could have done that was to jump up on a 6 foot fence and then jump another 2 feet to the railings on the back porch. He was friendly [to a point] but he would just eat and then jump off the porch. He did not come every day and I got to the point where I would call for him, I called him Meow Kitty at that point. This went on for probably a year. I would see him climbing in the trees and climb on top of a building to keep away from the other cats who probably beat him up. One day we saw him get beat up pretty bad. That was it. We decided that I would grab him the night before the spay wagon was to be in town and keep him in a dog crate in the house because we did not know if he was litter box trained. He was soooooo happy to come in my house and layed right down in that crate and did not make a fuss at all. Next day, off we went to get his shots and get him neutered. My nerves were raw that day, hoping he was healthy. He'd been a stay for a long time. We did not get good news, we were told he had feline leukemia, but that he was very healthy otherwise and could possibly live a long time with the disease. I wanted to have him put to sleep, but my daughter said no way! So Meow Kitty came home with me while we decided what we would do with him. His name was changed to Leo because he looked like a lion with his color and big ruff on his neck. He was skinny and needed attention. After he recovered from the neuter, he was allowed to roam my house. This cat has NEVER had an accident, does not get into any of my scrappin things and I have a LOT of things hanging around. He is like a little dog, following me everywhere, content to lay and watch me, when I move, he moves. I've had him for 9 months now and he has grown into the most glorious cat, with the sweetest temperment, loves everyone who comes in my house. I cannot image life without him, and to think I was the one who wanted to put this dear cat to sleep. I cringe at the thought now. Oh right, that is enough about Leo, but he will grace my homepage as long as I have him.