We called him (her?) Opie.
Actually, this was Opie II, the original having visited a couple of years prior.
As with any good host we put out food for our guest. Cat food and fruit, with cat food the preferred repast. The apple slices went uneaten. Opie would scale the brick wall, scan the garden, and scramble down for dinner. He seemed to be little concerned with us, as we watched from inside the open patio door.
Long ago, when we were kids, my youngest sister came running into the house, "there's a rat in the garage! there's a rat in the garage!" I remember going out with my dad to see. And there it was, sitting in a box. Dad, having grown up in Manhattan (without a garden backyard apparently) did what any city dweller would do when confronted with a big rat. He called the police. Fortunately, the officer correctly identified the creature, an opossum, instantly changing it from vermin to guest. So we gave it an apple. And watched as it played possum in the box. That apple went uneaten as well.
Opie hasn't been around for the last few days, the food untouched in the morning. The city can be a dangerous place, with way to many predatory automobiles. Hopefully he's ok. We'll keep watching for him.
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