Bas leaned more into Hudson’s neck then rubbed his chin across the top of Hudson’s head, ruffling his hair.
Carter rocked back on his heels. “Now what are you going to do with him?”
Hudson shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t have stuff to take care of him.”
Bas licked Hudson’s cheek before he leapt down from his shoulder.
Hudson tried to catch his furry friend, but Bas was already racing into the darkness.
“Guess he doesn’t need you to take care of him,” Carter commented.
“What if he gets lost?”
“I think he’s going to be fine.” Carter patted his shoulder before urging Hudson toward the back door. “He found you once. I’m sure if he needs something, we’ll see him again.”
He couldn’t help glancing over his shoulder to see if he could spot Bas, but the cat was gone.
They entered their house and Carter locked up for the night.
“I’m going to track down Bas’s owner tomorrow,” Hudson shared with his brother.
Carter smiled at him. “You have a good heart. Just don’t get into any trouble. We haven’t been around here long.”
“This is important,” Hudson insisted. “This person is a bad pet parent!”
His brother crossed the kitchen and kissed Hudson’s forehead. “I’m on day shift tomorrow. Call me if you need help.”
“Okay.” Hudson turned to head to his bedroom. “Night.”
“Good night, bro.”
He had to pass Carter’s room to get to his own. Carter had insisted on Hudson’s taking the master bedroom at the back of the house. With his curtains open, Hudson could see the tree that Bas had been sitting in. Hudson strode to the window and peered out.
One of the branches nearly touched the windowpane. That would need to be cut back before winter. Maybe the entire tree should be trimmed so any weak branches were removed. Not that Hudson was thinking about having a nightly visitor or anything. Okay, he totally was. How had Bas found him in the first place? While he normally walked home, he’d let EJ drive him earlier that day. Hudson needed to learn more about cats.
Turning from the window, Hudson left the curtain just in case his little stalker returned. He grabbed his laptop from the desk and set it on the mattress before heading to the attached bathroom to get ready for bed.
Hudson washed his face, then brushed his teeth before changing into his comfortable lounge pants and tank. Hereturned to his bedroom, picking up the laptop before he settled under the blankets.
Starting his research, Hudson typed in everything he could remember about Bas.
He scrolled through the information collected until he reached the section on margays. The picture matched perfectly. Hudson read through the article slowly.
Themargayis a small wild cat native to Mexico, Central, and South America. A solitary and nocturnal felid, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest.
Until the 1990s, margays were hunted for the wildlife trade, at which point the killing of the species was outlawed in most countries; however, years of persecution resulted in a notable population decrease.
Hudson’s heart ached for his furry friend. Had Bas been rescued? He kept reading.
The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer.
Its fur is brown and marked with numerous rows of dark brown or black rosettes and longitudinal streaks. The undersides are paler, ranging from buff to white, and the tail has numerous dark bands and a black tip. The backs of the ears are black with circular white markings in the center.
Yep, Hudson was sure he’d found Bas’s breed. All the pictures associated with a margay showed such gorgeous creatures. Although having had Bas in his arms, the photosdidn’t really do the little guy justice or mention how soft his sleek fur was.
The margay is a skillful climber, and colloquially it is sometimes called the tree ocelot because of this ability. It spends most of the time in trees, leaping after and chasing birds and monkeys through the treetops. It can turn its ankles up to 180 degrees, so it can grasp branches equally well with its fore and hind paws, and it is able to jump up to 12feet horizontally.
Now they were getting to the good stuff! No wonder Bas kept climbing the dang trees.
