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There’s a familiar lie many cat lovers have told themselves at least once: “We’re just feeding this stray. It’s not our cat.” Artist Elizabeth Jancewicz discovered just how quickly that excuse can unravel when a mysterious stray began appearing around her home. What started with a simple bowl of food gradually turned into concern, a warm shelter, special meals, late-night check-ins through the window, and, inevitably, a name: Pilgrim.

Somewhere along the way, the little visitor stopped feeling quite so much like a stranger and started becoming part of the family. Elizabeth documented their growing bond through her “The Touring Test” comics, turning the experience into a funny and tender story about the blurry line between helping an unfamiliar cat and realizing that she may have quietly decided you’re her person. The comics capture all the small negotiations, worries, excuses, and acts of affection that make their relationship feel so genuine.

But Pilgrim’s story didn’t end with the comics. Elizabeth eventually wrote and illustrated a longer story about her, and the adventures of this once-stray cat have now been turned into a hardcover book as well.

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