Charlie’s tail has finally started to fluff out like a big coyote tail – it was rather rat-like for the longest time – and though he looks like a full grown coyote in some of the pictures, he’s still so small, barely taller than the cat, and he still curls up on my chest in bed; in fact, he will not go to sleep without having some part of his body touching mine.

I’ve found I can’t leave meat in his bowl for Charlie to eat at will – once he’s eaten his fill, he’ll take the remaining pieces and hide them all over the cabin – under the woodstove, behind my printer, even in the bed under the covers.