The Applicant

How do they put the word out on the street? There's a whole communication system that we know nothing about except that it MUST exist. If we could figure it out we wouldn't need computers at all. We could just do the telepathic cat communication. I'd call it TCC. Sounds really official, doesn't it?
Right before Christmas, a beautiful orange long haired cat started coming up to eat out of the dry food bowl that's always on our deck. We have various and sundry critters that eat dry cat food. I've seen raccoons, possums, squirrels (yep) and birds (yep to that one too) eating dry cat food. Oh yeah, I've actually seen cats eating it too. :)
So anyway, this gorgeous, very skittish kitty starts coming around for some chow. Initially he'd run if he saw us looking at him but he realized pretty fast that if we were going to actually feed him we probably weren't going to hurt him. He took a few weeks but he got to the point that I could open the door to put out a bowl of canned cat food for him and he'd run but come right back up when I went in. He got less and less skittish when he realized that this nice hot meal was going to pretty much happen when he saw us.
During the week that Freckles was in the hospital he would actually run to the door when he'd see me with a can of food. Making progress here, right? The Saturday after Freckles came home, he looked at me, scrunched up his eyes and let me touch him. Well that was that. We became the very bestest of friends.
It took him a couple of days to decide that being inside in the warmth for at least a few minutes at a time was really a lot nicer than being outside in the freezing cold all the time. So he decided to fill out the application. While he was dotting the i's, crossing the t's and putting the paw to the dotted line, I was losing my Freckles.
How do I tell this lovely kitty who comes in my house, eats my food, uses my litter pan (and actually covers it!) that I just don't think he's my kitty. He's gorgeous, sweet and he's someone else's love. I'll take him to the vet and do that horrible deed to him but I am just not ready to have him in my life permanently. I will find him that loving home though and I'll take really good care of him until I do.
Patty, you reading this? :)