First, the dogs. As we reach the end of our daily walk at dawn, we pass the home of friends and their dogs, who apparently keep watch for us to pass by. As we get closer, we can usually hear a commotion behind the gate at the top of their driveway as four dogs race from the house and vie for good positions. Often they’re jumping, whining, or barking while looking out through the chain-link fence just off to the left of this photo. But yesterday the two puppies, Sadie and Riley, could be seen peeking out under the bottom of the gated entry. The pair, half-Rottweiler and half-Boogie (the dog across the street), are just five months old and now probably can brag a combined weight in excess of 80 pounds. And it’s probably no surprise that they do enjoy their dog biscuits!

Then there’s the cat. This probably started several months ago when both Romeo and Silverman got into fights that left them pretty beaten up with lots of scratches and bites. Both have recovered. Then a couple of weeks ago, I heard growling in the yard and ran out to intervene, just in time to see two orange cats run out the corner of the yard with Romeo is ragged pursuit. That scene was repeated within a few days, but with the escape route on the other side of the yard.

Then there were several sightings of one of the orange cats coming up the stairs to the decks, once or twice in front, and at least that many times onto the back deck.

Forward to this past week. I was awakened two nights by muted growling down the hall at around 1 a.m., stumbling out of bed to the living room. When I turned on a light, I saw an orange cat–not Mr. Toby–beating a high speed retreat across the back deck and down the stairs. In the second sighting, the cat–likely a “he”–was first seen just a few feet from our cat door, which allows our cats to freely go in-and-out as they please. But it wasn’t clear whether he was approaching the cat door or whether he had already learned to negotiate the cat door. I had my own suspicions because each time I responded to the sound of cats growling, the several food bowls in the kitchen had been licked clean, not a single kibble or fragment left. Our cats do that on occasion, but I don’t think it happens on a regular basis.

Yesterday I looked out into the yard and saw Romeo in that classic “meatloaf” position, hunkered down in the middle of the lawn. Hopefully you recall the cat drawings of cartoonist B. Kliban, who said a cat is “a damn fine creature, often mistaken for a meatloaf.” In any case, closer inspection revealed the orange cat perhaps 20 feet away at the edge of the yard. The meatloaf posture usually indicates that some accommodation between the parties is being negotiated.

Last night brought the answer. The clock read 1:35 when I heard the telltale growling and threw myself out of bed and down the hall. This time when the lights went on, the stranger was about four feet from the cat door, fur puffed up in excitement. But this time he was inside the house and heading out. Romeo and Harriet were standing by, although when the stranger took off, Romeo followed, although he stopped the pursuit at the edge of the deck.

So now we have to sort out what to do. Neither of us wants to increase the size of our cat household. Eight is enough. But this cat, while scared, has not been scared away. So what do we do? We haven’t faced this question very often, because wandering cats are typically chased off by our boundary patrol. It’s not clear yet whether this cat has fought his way through and now enjoys a tenuous access pass, or whether he has been tentatively accepted.

Now we have to figure out what to do next.

Oh, by the way, Happy Father’s Day. We’re going to be visiting my dad this afternoon, along with my sister and mother. Perhaps our cats will bring me Father’s Day greetings. Perhaps not.

So it goes.