Beorn's mother was a regular at my stray feeder. She was a longhaired tabby-and-white whom I called "White Nose", and was moderately friendly in that she would sit in the garage and talk to me, but she never grew tame enough for me to be able to touch her.

In early October of 2002, White Nose brought her latest litter of kittens to the feeder. There were two of them, a shorthaired tabby boy and a longhaired black-and-white whom I believe is female. The black-and-white one disappeared after a couple of weeks, and I thought she had probably died. Meanwhile, the tabby boy developed a respiratory infection. He was weaned by that time, and I managed to capture him and take him inside for treatment and taming.

Both were successful; the kitten wasn't seriously ill and recovered quickly, and it only took a couple of days for him to become a purring lap-snuggler. White Nose didn't appear to be at all distressed at losing him (in fact, I got the impression she was distinctly relieved), and went about her usual routine, visiting the feeder daily. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after I adopted Beorn, his mother disappeared suddenly and I have never seen her since. One of my other regulars disappeared at the same time; I have no idea whether they were taken in by someone else or met a more sinister fate.

Beorn himself has grown up quite happily in the house, a typical rowdy boy-cat with the usual fondness for stealing things, shredding toilet paper, and playing noisy games in the middle of the night. His best friend is Fingolfin, who is just a few months older, and he gets along well with the rest of the gang. Clovis, who loved kittens, promptly adopted him and they played and snuggled together frequently.

Beorn is also an excellent people-cat, spending a lot of time in my lap and being very fond of attention. He talks a lot, a trait he may have gotten from his mother, who was also a talker.