Catness readers, meet Tigs. It really felt like destiny that he came into our lives. When we viewed the home we now live in, he was waiting to welcome us in the street.

Affectionate and expressive, this ginger tom was probably the reason we bought the house.

At that point, he was called Dave, after a drummer in a heavy metal band. Which never felt right to us but then, at that point, he wasn't our cat — but our next-door neighbour. With a coat that blends graduated tiger stripes with an immaculate front bib of white; it's a wonderful hybrid going on. Snowy paws and a white stripe up the centre of his head contrast with a stripy tale that lightens at the tip. Abandoned as a kitten, rescued and re-homed, Tigs was always looking for head pats and a leg to rub against when we saw him. We were only too happy to oblige. A gregarious friendly tiger, which is how he came to be known to us as 'Tigs', one day a month after we had settled in, he appeared at our back door and asked to come in for a look around. Little did we know then, he was scouting out the place for a more permanent arrangement. If you believe in such things, we manifested each other.

From his point of view, as an older cat looking for a quieter life, it made absolute sense.

My wife and I both work from home, no kids, no pets and were a contrast to next door with two dogs, a number of teens and quite a bit of coming and going.

Thinking back, it was purr-fect timing. We had recently talked about getting a cat and taken that first bold step. Buying cat books to read up and learn feline-related stuff. Literally days later, a pink nose, long white whiskers and a flickering stripy tail appeared. We slid the patio door across — and life has never been the same since. Everyone here contributing to Catness doubtless has their own tale of what their cat means to them. For us, it was love at first Tigs. The difficulty was balancing an unexpected, welcome and enduring love affair with the awkward fact that he wasn't our family member — yet. That meant not feeding him or allowing overnight stays.

But, every morning, earlier and earlier as the months ticked by, he waited patiently in rain and snow at our patio door to be let in. Timidness giving way to full-scale caterwauling if we were taking our time about it.

We didn't set out to be cat-nappers — but the fact remained that he was an independent soul and had opted for a change.

Our next-door neighbours were a lovely couple who we liked a lot and seemed relaxed about the fact their cat had now taken up residence next door.

We had other selling points like our sloped back garden that's an oasis for birds and under a stone near our bird feeders is a mouse den that regularly required further inspection. From a tentative sniff around our kitchen to a full-scale interrogation of every nook and crevice, the verdict was in.

Yes, this will do nicely.

Cats like to get an elevated position and Tigs is no exception. Our full-length glass windows offer a view of the street below and the hills in our corner of West Yorkshire in the UK. The afternoon sun is amplified through the glass and snoozing on the dining table soon became a popular pastime.

He likes to sit in my office on the window sill (above) with its view of the back garden and survey his kingdom when not power-napping. Within days and over the coming months (it's been 2+ years now since he first ventured in), we've adapted our lives around Tigs. He gets the run of the place and anything he wants. 'This is the Way' is our mantra (from The Mandalorian TV series). I've never met a more affectionate cat and we've had a couple of beauties cross our path over the years. By chance, they've all had a striking marmalade coat. Our new family member brought a profound sense of calm (how relaxing is it to have a beautiful cat curled up asleep on your lap?) and contentment. Since troubled beginnings, Tigs found his feet in life and at the tender age of 13, certainly seems happy and settled. He brings so much to our lives. Being cat-parents is immensely rewarding in so many subtle and profound ways. It felt like fate. He gets full-beam attention and cuddles, along with an appreciation for his independence. Perhaps another day, I can share some of the quirky habits we've evolved that cat lovers may nod away to and how it came to be that we formally adopted Tigs. I have plenty of stories up my sleeve. Being head-butted awake at 3am, having an assistant writer walk across my keyboard during the day or the time he introduced us to an owl.

There's always something going on here — and we are all the richer for it.

Thanks for reading — I've really enjoyed writing this one — If you liked this story, follow me on Medium, clap away if you think it merits such applause and by all means, leave a comment on the story below about Tigs, your own cat or writing.