“Hi, there! I’m Houdini. I like you. I’m an excellent young guy, tuxedo style, wearing a lop-sided bow tie. If you’re looking for artist-perfect symmetry, I don’t have it. But if you’re looking for friendly, slightly sophisticated fun, here it is!  Me! Houdini! Why Houdini? Because I like to escape, that’s why. Lock me up – I will get out. So don’t lock me up! Let’s play!”

“I’m friendly, I’m mellow, and I’m nice. I have a bright face and smart eyes. I might be as much as three years old. I was showing off, doing magic tricks on some street corner, hoping to persuade some school kids to give me their chicken sandwich lunches. It didn’t work. One kid did toss me a bag of M&Ms. I stopped to grab it, and animal control pounced me. Said, ‘Hey, cat! You got a street entertainer’s license?’ ‘A what?’ I said, ‘I don’t even have a building permit!’ ‘We think you’d better come with us.’”

“Here I am, Houdini! A people-loving, people-exploring cat. I walk on you! I walk around this room. I explore it. Well, well – what do I see? Another human – a mop-assembling human! You got one of those mops for me? May I tussle it? Oh, fun! I move along the floor. The good stuff, the interesting stuff, is on the ground. Not in the ceiling, not on top of the shelves. The stories are on the floor. Stories of other cats. I go across the floor and write Houdini’s story for some other cat to find.”

“Houdini is about as fine a cat as you will ever find. I’m nice. I’m smart. And I think I’m darned handsome, too. I’d like to be your forever cat. I’ll entertain you – no license required. I’ll study your floors and tell you the stories I read. I might even sit in your lap – you never know! May I live with you? Come to Feline Rescue – I think I’m rescued – bring $120. Let’s play!”