Newt, you may know this one.

Thomas the tomcat (aren't we original in naming him??) showed up at our doorstep beginning of April. Between now and then he has been to the vet with a gunshot wound and to get neutered. The vet THINKS he is around 5 or 6 months. But I wonder if he is a little younger? or is his behavior normal for that age. His behavior....he drools ALOT! Anytime I sit down on the porch, he climbs on my lap, kneads my belly, and curls up in a tight fetal position and makes happy noises, not just purring, but other noises I cant explain. Does this sound typical of a six month old kitten?? And he eats like a pig!!! He was tested for everything at the vet and he is perfectly healthy. I am used to a 12-year old cat who doesn eat nearly that much.*

And come winter, I dont really want to leave Thomas out at night, but even if I feed him and he has food left after he eats, he still goes down the hall and eats Patches food!!!! We live in a small trailer and cannot really close any doors because I dont want to lock anyone in a tiny room overnight...so any suggestions on keeping him out of her food would be great. Sometimes she sits in the hallway and wont let him past, but sometimes she is in the window and just sort of watches him with an appalled look on her face and does nothing!!

Thanks for any input .....Dina :)