A gift from God?

 So...  about 1998 ish, my husband brought home a stray cat that he found while helping my brother on a fixer upper house in town.  The people who abandoned the house also abandoned this cat.  So my husband, being the softie that he is, brought him home one day.  This was one cool cat.

Agent Orange Kitty (AOK for short) quickly made himself at home.  He had been declawed by his previous owners, yet left to fend for himself outside for over a year before he met my husband.  This cat had to survive in a neighborhood with other cats and dogs that were just waiting for their chance to take a chunk out of him.  Over time though, he gained an attitude of assurance and confidence.  (He had my male German Shepherd/Lab mix in line in no time.)  He was very assertive and often the first to make a move in order to scare off potential threats.  "Don't mess with me!"

When he came home to us, he probably thought he died and went to heaven.  He could do no wrong.  Because of living on the streets so long, and never knowing when or where he'd get his next meal, he didn't know what to do with a bowl of food that was always full.  So he inhaled it.  All.  Then he would puke it up, recover, and eat it again.  Um... yes.  Disgusting.  I hear ya.  Still, we cleaned up what was left and moved on because we loved this guy. 

Anyway, long story short, he was around the middle of his life when we got him and he lived to be an old, skinny rail of a thing, with sore teeth and a little bit less of a 'tude.  He died about 5 years ago.  The vet thought he was easily around 15 years old at that time.  RIP AOK.

My husband LOVED this cat.  I loved this cat.  The kids, everyone loved. this. cat.  He has been missed.  We got a couple new cats, but it hasn't been the same.  They are great and all, but just not the same.

So.... 

About a week ago, our dog was going nuts in our garage, and I was thinking maybe the chickens had gotten into their old pen as they do sometimes... 

But it wasn't the chickens. 

It was this guy...

You should have seen my husband's face when I brought him in from the garage.  First as if he had seen a ghost and then like a boy on Christmas morning realizing he was opening the gift he really, really wanted.  There is so much joy in his heart for this cat.

I mean, wow.  Seriously. 


So what do you think?  A gift from God?