The neighbor's car pulled into my driveway. She got out holding a stranger in her arms.

"I found this cat in my yard. Is he yours?"

"No."

"Oh. I thought he was."

"Well, he's not."

"Well, can you hold him until I drive away so he doesn't follow me home?"

Oh yes, we all know how this story ends.

He was a beautiful little fuzzy ball of orange. Quite an affectionate, purring fellow too. And yes, I fed him. Knowing full well where that always leads.

I already had two cats. Witchie and Taz, both Siamese. It had taken quite a bit of time and effort for Witchie to accept Taz. Plus, Taz had been sole male cat for several years. Another male? Not possible. But, I thought, why not have an indoor male and an outdoor male?

Since new guy arrived in late October, and since he was orange, we dubbed him Pumpkin. He knew indoors cats didn't like him, and he was fine with that. Their turf, not his. Besides, he loved it when my dogs, Daisy and Bebe, came outside to visit him, even when they chased him up a tree, which was always. They were just playing. My dogs love all cats, and they licked him when he came down.

One Saturday afternoon, I went outside to play with my chainsaw. On porch, I found eight dead mice, beside front door in a very neat row. They were all on their backs, with their heads pointing same way and their tails neatly aligned. This was obviously a gift from young Pumpkin, a show of his gratitude.

I worked with my chainsaw for a while, then went back to house for a drink. Now there were only five mice. No doubt my young son had decided that he'd done his part. He'd offered them to me first. If I didn't want them, well, it was a shame to let a good meal go to waste.

Still later, I returned to house to see only two mice remaining. Still later, half a mouse. Still later, no mice at all. No blood or fur, either. He cleaned up quite thoroughly.

It's obvious how Pumpkin survived before I began feeding him. It's also obvious why he didn't eat very much.

One night, I was typing on computer when I heard a strange squeaking noise coming from porch. I finally went outside to see what it was. Pumpkin was standing there, looking every bit wild-eyed feral hunter, with a live squeaking mouse in his mouth. I just muttered "Good boy" and went back inside. Eventually, noise stopped.

When weather turned cold, I let Pumpkin come inside. Yes, it pissed off Siamese coalition, but I decided I didn't care.

I paused to look at life through eyes of Witchie and Taz, and here is what I saw:

Every species has its own identifying colors. For example, all dogs are black with brown eyes. All horses are brown with dark brown manes. All people are white-skinned, with brownish hair and blue eyes. And all cats, quite naturally, are blue-eyed shorthaired sealpoint Siamese.

* Change Your Dog’s Diet

Easy enough and it worked for my dog. Be sure you are providing a high-quality dog food with no added preservatives, food colorings, wheat, corn or soy products. It would be preferable to get a dog food that is low fat AND has low carbohydrates, but unfortunately there is no such thing as a low-carb dog food. Just be aware that grains (which make up a large component of dry dog food) tend to increase inflammation and aggravate arthritis. A better alternative would be to switch to home-prepared meals with either cooked or raw meats and vegetables.

However, if you don’t want to prepare meals for your pet, then cut back on dry food and start adding a cup of fresh veggie “salad” every day. Celery is excellent for joints. I often chop up lettuce, celery, cucumber, some carrot, and any other fresh vegetables I have on hand. Just make sure to cut all vegetables into very small pieces for easy digestion (a food processor is perfect for this) and don’t use onions or mushrooms as they may be toxic to your dog.

* Provide Supplements That Reduce Arthritic Swelling and Pain

Give your dog a glucosamine tablet. Glucosamine helps body manufacture glycosaminoglycans, which is designed to maintain cartilage structure. The recommended dosage is ¼ mg of a 500mg tablet per 10 pounds of body weight once a day. Preferably use a glucosamine tablet that also contains Chondroitin Sulfate. This supplement helps to attract water into cartilage for added nutrition and lubrication. It also seems to inhibit excessive cartilage destroying enzymes.

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a naturally occurring organic dietary sulphur that has been shown in studies to relieve arthritic pain, slow joint deterioration and reduce inflammation with no negative side effects.