Awwww! And yeah, cats DO bond closely with their owners. I mentioned earlier how my big cat Siete keeps trying to open the door and get out. He has done that a few times already, and he has ended up meowing in front of my door to get back in. Neighbors say that he just flopped down on my welcome mat and waited until I opened the door (I was home each time).
You dont like cats? Do they dig up your plants and such?
No-cats are cool, Like them a lot.
Problem is:
We have a few cats-a pair of sisters and one other, the daughter of one of our older now dead, cats. They are working cats, that is, we feed them in the morning, then their job is to 'patrol' the yard and rid it of rabbits, moles, mice and chipmunks. Particularly around the chickens; you should have free roaming cats if you have chickens-to get rodents in the chicken coop can be disastrous (it was one of the main contributors to the Hillman egg salmonella issue a few yrs back- rodent salmonella 'crossed' with chicken salmonella = sick eggs).
In the last few yrs, ppl from wherever, have begun to dump cats and some dogs out here in our area. They know that us and our neighbors are most likely going to take care of these animals because we are rural and out of the borough.
Most of these dumped cats have gone half feral, and come around at night hoping to find left over cat food and for our females when in heat.
The other night I woke up around 3 am and went out on the deck-I saw at least 7 cats that I did not recognize.
Last time I saw a car dumping cats up the road, it had a NY plate (NY state is about an hour north)-called it in but never heard anything.
No, the cats don't seem to dig up anything, The 'wild' ones tend to stay in the wooded areas during the day under big rocks in mini caves, ours stay near the house.
So, that is why I say I wish that these dumped cats would find their way home.
. It would have been easier to just buy a baby plant. 
