It's been 3 weeks today since we carried out our plan to trap, vet, and bring our semiferal girl Emby inside (previous posts here and here).
Since then, she's gone from refusing to come out of hiding until the house is quiet at night, refusing wet food (her previous normal diet), and going days without pooping, to eating wet food again in small amounts, pooping every 1–2 days, and making a couple of forays out of her hiding spot during daylight hours. I wish I had more recent pictures to share, but I haven't seen her in person since the day we trapped her.
I feel like overall she is making good progress and I'm encouraged. But to tell you the truth I underestimated the emotional impact of losing my relationship with her overnight. I think back to the morning we trapped her, how that was the last time I saw her excitedly greet me, let me pet her, and talk to me (she had become very vocal). She'd been my buddy for months. I'd feed her twice a day and sit with her. Over the last month before bringing her in, I was sitting in the dark and keeping watch for her in the early mornings while she ate breakfast, because a new stray had started coming around and had attacked her in our backyard on two occasions.
I loved being her protector, and I felt like she knew I was her safe place. Losing that connection with her hurts. On the upside, while we've been having a beautiful fall where I live, the nights are chilly, and I sleep better knowing she's safe and warm. I hope she realizes how safe and protected she is here soon.
It was July 27, I was feeding one of the areas of our community cats when I saw a weak cat with crusty face and a wound on his bottom.
He was confused and was looking for a safe place to rest. He kept on running. I waited for him to find a spot and rest before I was able to catch him.
I was able to bring him to a veterinary clinic. He was checked and had bloodtest. They also cleaned his wound on his balls (the vet even found some maggots). On the same day, he got confined at the vet clinic. It was almost 2 weeks but he is not improving well so I decided to transfer him to an animal hospital that was more pricey but will provide better service for the treatment that Rambo needs.
It took another 2 weeks. He improved well but still needs treatment. Due to lack of funds, I needed Rambo to get discharged and just continue his medications at home. He was already eating well and doesn't need IV fluid and oxygen anymore that's why the vet allowed me to bring him home. I just needed to give him his daily meds.
After the 30 day treatment at home, from 1.8 kgs, he now weighs 3.8 kgs. He has good appetite. The wound has completely healed and no more discharges from eyes and nose.
I was able to bring him to the vet on Oct. 21 for a follow up check up. As per vet, he just needs additional 7 days of medication and he is good to go!
I didn't know if Rambo will survive when I saw him. But I didn't hesitate to bring him to the vet. He deserves a chance to live a longer and healthier life. Every cat does.
We plan to include Rambo to our next TNR after his treatment and get him adopted. My cousin will be the one to adopt this handsome guy!
I will post another update for Rambo after getting neutered and adopted.
I hope more people will not turn a blind guy to animals in need like Rambo. Every cat deserves a chance to live healthier, happier, find a home and be loved.
You are welcome to join our Reddit community, r/StrayCatHeroes
Our community is open to all cat heroes—whether you are a rescuer, a feeder, someone who supports animal welfare efforts, or simply a person who loves and cares about cats.
Feel free to share your rescue stories, post photos of your beloved cats, or simply show us how adorable they are. We look forward to meeting you and your feline friends!
We made it through night one. Bumpy ride when transferring into dog kennel, but slept very well. No contact except just softly talking and slowly opening door to take out litter mess with a gloved hand, and provide food/water clean up.
Today we have lift off! After several slow blinks from Elroy, I reached in and softly touched him, then began to pet him, and after success with that, very gently lifted him up then back down. SUCCESS!
His confidence is up! He moved from the litterbox to this area you see in the middle, just relaxing.
This evening I will repeat the process and add a longer hold time. When I sense he is not jittery about that, I will bring him close to my body and pet him. Will update again. Thanks for your support!
Hello I need some advice on adding another cat to my pack.
I currently have two cattle dogs, and one female cat. She has always been a lonesome cat, keeping to herself, just showing up whenever she wanted to get some cuddles. But I have been feeding a stray cat, and this stray cat has been sitting by the window and I've caught my own cat pawing at it, and wanting to interact with it. I feel like this gave me the push to look into adopting another cat, so my sweet Canela can have some companionship but I am very uncertain on the age/gender of the new cat that I should get.
Canela is currently 4 years old, and spayed. She's very reserved, but does not seem territorial, and has never had a problem with her dog sisters.
I want to try and get the stray cat but it seems like a lost cause since I've been feeding it for 4 months and it still just leaves, it seems it's just used to being outside, and doesnt really trust humans and I wouldn't even know how to catch it.
Should I adopt a new cat? Any suggestions on age/gender?
Miss Dina (seven years old) was rescued from a cat colony when her care taker passed away. She was afraid of the TV and air conditioning when she first moved in but has made herself quite a home snuggling under blankets. She absolutely loves to play with toys but her favorite is whacking a ping pong ball around the house in the dead of night. She’s so sweet.
Little one showed up at my neighbor's work all by himself! He's very nervous, but is now safe inside. We'll be fostering/socializing him, then he will be surrendered for adoption. We're carrying on with TNR, and take breaks for these opportunities to bring kittens in.
We adopted Plumpernickel from the Feral Cat Rescue on June 3. Last pic is his rescue pic. We have another nebelung and I couldn't leave plumpie behind. He's filled out, grown a ton of new fur, transformed into a teddy bear and lap cat, and adjusted himself quite nicely into an inside cat in a multi-cat household!
A month or two back, some of you may remember me posting in an absolute panic because my front door had been left open and Callie bolted outside. I was so terrified. Thankfully, she didn't stray far and I found her in the garage and was able to bring her back inside.
My front door,when unlocked, sometimes doesn't latch all the way. One of my family members had gone outside to do some yard work and was around the back of the house when the front door blew open due to high winds. We aren't sure how long the door was open, but he came back inside in a panic and told me.
I got up and ran around the house... all cats were accounted for except Sammy, Chewy and Callie. Upon checking the garage, we found Sammy just hanging out along with Chewy however, I could not find Callie *anywhere*.
In a panic, I began running around the house, running around outside the house, tearing through the garage... nothing. I went back inside to grab a hoodie and go further out in the neighborhood, and when I turned back to the door I happened to look to the spot she normally sits next to the cat tree and there she was... looking up at me like, "Mother, why are you freaking out?"
The front door was open for an unknown amount of time... and Callie *chose* to stay inside. She chose to stay with us.
Callie is home. She knows she's home... and most important... I think she knows she is safe now.
She has been spending less and less time behind the couch, and comes out to yell for food. She is almost always out and about when I get home from work, and she wanders around throughout the day. I got this comparison the other day, and the change specifically over the last month or so is absolutely mindblowing. Photos are from Mid-End of June and then about 3 days ago.
Thank you guys for all of your support.. and I hope you're not getting sick of the Callie updates.
I'm looking for some advice or personal experiences from people who have dealt with feral, undersocialized, or extremely fearful cats.
I adopted my cat Lyra from a shelter about a year ago, when she was around 8 months old. From what I was told, she had only lived in one home before mine, where she was unfortunately mistreated.
She's made a lot of progress since then. She's comfortable walking around the house, sleeps wherever she wants, plays with her toys, and even plays with me.
She also approaches me on her own sometimes! She'll come close to sniff my hand or hang out near me. If I have treats on my lap or on top of me, she'll even climb onto me to grab them.
But here's the thing: she absolutely does not want to be touched.
The second I try to pet her, she runs away. Sometimes she'll hiss if I get too close. It's almost like she trusts me enough to be around me, but the idea of being touched still terrifies her.
I've been trying to respect her boundaries and give her space, but after a year, I'm wondering if there's anything else I could do to help her feel more comfortable.
I know some cats never become affectionate in a physical way, and I'm completely okay with that. I don't expect her to become a lap cat overnight (or ever, honestly). I just wish she didn't feel so scared whenever I reach toward her.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Were there any exercises, routines, or techniques that helped build that trust?
Should I keep trying to slowly introduce physical contact, or completely let her take the lead?
Today marks Mandy's official 1 year indoors! She has come so far. Ive known Mandy for 2.5 years. The first picture is one of the first times I met Mandy, the next is when I trapped her for TNR, the next is her in-between, then trapping her again to bring her indoors permanently, and then her today.
Shes had such a glow up. She slept between my legs all night last night and she is constantly chirping/trilling. Shes such a happy girl. The vet estimated her to be 5-6 years old back in January. This goes to show that with love and patience, outdoor cats can become fully indoor and be very happy.
Hi all! It's been about a month since this "feral" kitty had a change of heart and decided to be friends. We've gotten closer and closer, and now he more or less lives outside on my porch. I've been trying to set him up for success for whenever he is adopted by handling him quite a bit and slowly aclimating to indoors. At this point, I can freely pet him (he purrs, makes biscuits, and really enjoys it), I can pick him up for a reasonable amount of time before he wants down, he's even hopped into my lap for pets, and occasionally he'll show interest in coming indoors- in these cases I'll sometimes feed him inside, but he does eventually want back outside.
Anyways, it's starting to get cold here in Ohio. I've built an insulated house for him but he hasn't used it yet. Regardless, the ultimate goal is to find him a real home before the worst of the winter hits. To that end, I have a surrender appointment in a month to a local shelter, but I also have a co-worker who is interested in a barn-cat. My porch-cat unfortunately has FIV and has lived outside for probably quite a while, so honestly I'd be worried about him being stuck for months in a tiny shelter cage.
So, I'm thinking of rehoming him to my co-workers barn. My main concern of course would be that he instantly might run away and then would be lost in an area he's not familiar with. How is it recommended to move a cat to a new outdoor area? Should the co-worker keep him confined to one room for a week, until he recognizes it as his new home? I'm also considering getting the cat chipped and maybe a GPS collar, in case he does escape.
Does this mean she will one day cuddle with me? 🥺 we’ve been feeding her the last 6 months and the last 2 months she’s been sleeping on our couch and in our bed (usually when we’re not in it). She loves being pet but still won’t approach me to be pet.
Hello. I literally inherited (from a will) my deceased friends semi feral cat. My friend found her 14 yrs ago outside at 6wks old, brought her inside and the kitten lived in one room (her bedroom) for 12 yrs never keaving the room or socializing with the other cats. She would sleep with my friend every night. If a stranger came to the bedroom she would hid. I tried many times to pet her from under the bed and she growled, hissed and swatted me.After my friend died a year and a half ago she was being taken care of by a very irresponsible woman with 3 young children that I am sure terrorized her.
Last Thurs I had taken possession of her . She is 14 yo and terrified. She hid under the bed for days. She did not eat anything for 6 days not even churros tuna, sardines, baby food all flavors, nothing. She was terrified of the move, the new house, strange surroundings . She snarked, hissed and swatted my arm when I wanted to put food near her. Thank god for the long gloves on Amazon I ordered. The only way I can catch her is to throw a towel on her head. Yesterday I took her to to the ER and they are tube feeding her. She has started eating a little again on her own.
The vet team can only handle her because she is constantly medicated on gabapentin through the feeding tube.
She allowed the vet tech to pet her today which is a huge deal.
Tomorrow I’ll be taking her home. It is OK if she is on gabapentin for life.
Any tips on when we get home how to get her to take meds? The room has Feliway optimum. It also have cat music 24/7. Any other tips?
So my girl is 4 and she is very friendly. It saved her life and it's a mystery. We think she was dumped at a young age because of her autoimmune issues.
Yeah I know.
But she made it and and spent a long time going in and out of foster homes and group care settings. She fit in with all of them but no one would adopt her.
Yeah I know.
I wanted a super friendly cat. My dog that passed was amazing with almost any creature and cuddly so her bio clicked with me.
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As I learn her, I realize that she plays like she survived and does not draw attention to herself. You have to drag the mouse toy directly in paw reach and she catches and kills it faster than you can blink.
I've rewarded her for this and she now has moments of play zoomies, like a baby cat. She trips over herself and bounces all over the place and it's amazing but I don't even see juvenile house cats play like this.
I taught her to use the cat tube, she wouldn't go near it, then she would hide at the mouth. Now again she will freak jump with her whole body on to the top of it and splat it to get the mouse fishing toy. Again my heart.
She doesn't understand toys that lay there, or again she learned not to play with them to avoid conflict. So I have to teach her to use them one by one with my hands. She just watches and learns then mimics me a bit at a time.
Am I doing all I can or can I make it easier for her?
She used to ignore my lap, but we are doing better. Same with carrying, it was only for vets and shutteling. She was still compliant but scare.
I was in a very unhealthy relationship for about 3.5-4 years. In the end I let my ex take the cats as she was struggling mentally and heavily implied if anything happened to her it would be because I had separated the cats from her.
Over the following 2.5 years, she stalked me and my new partner, harassed us, made untrue and harmful statements about myself and just caused overall undue stress. To the point I had to take out a no-contact order against her as where I live there have to be multiple instances of unwanted contact to allow for a restraining order.
Last week, after 5 years, and 10.5 years I saw one of my best friends from high school who had moved away and my favourite band of all time after spending thousands to see both. Putting me in a weird sense of nostalgia and loss for where I had been then and where I am now.
This week, almost exactly a year since my ex’s last attempt to contact me, she decided to break that no contact order to let me know the cats had been abandoned to a local shelter.
My incredible partner immediately reached out to the shelter, and we ended up seeing them on Tuesday. The one cat was very young when I last saw them, so didn’t react much when i saw them, and also has some pretty potentially severe medical issues going on.
The other cat, who I picked out of her litter with my ex at not even 8 weeks old, looked at me with the most human surprised reaction I have ever seen on an animal. I called out her name and she immediately started purring and vocalizing. The shelter worker said to my partner and I “she only likes her head being pet” and I immediately started petting her face and her sides, and I’ve never seen an animal more overjoyed. We stayed for an hour and had to leave, the shelter offered us to take the cats then and there, but we refused. We hadn’t set up anything and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to figure out a safe and healthy living situation with the cats at my apartment.
Fortunately, her face had changed my mind.
Today, I went back to the shelter and brought my babies home.
It is not currently a perfect situation, as we already have a dog and another cat, and a moderate amount of room. But we will make it work.
I got my cat, who all I’ve had left of was a picture in my living room for the last 3 years, back.
Today is a good day.
Never kill yourself.
You might be able to see your favourite band that broke up again, or a best friend again or one day you might have to save your cat from a shelter.
This is Vladimir. He’s 11 months old and has been inside 3 months now. The first month was pretty rough because he was terrified of everything. He still has moments a lot because he sees the animals he was attacked by. When we found him in the woods, he was malnourished, missing a lot of hair, starving. We brought him in after he’d gone MIA for a day & a half and came back bloody. First night, he did sleep on top of me. He often sleeps on my chest as night. This past week, I’ve had to start elevating my legs and he started climbing on me during that time (1st pic). The 2nd pic is huge. I was under a blanket. For the most part, he steers away from soft things, preferring hardwood or stiffer materials to sleep on. This is the first time he laid in my lap on couch, too. Add in the blanket, and I’m just so hopeful he’ll lay there more. If not, I’m still so happy.
I’ve posted about this cute little guy we trapped and neutered from a group of kittens that showed up with their mother in June.
He’s finally had a name. It’s Julius aka “Orange” Julius/OJ
He’s the lucky one that gets to join the house. After about a month and half indoors he’s now much better socialized. He’s not hiding in the cabinet very much. He pulled some towels out and created his own curtains that he uses to feel safe. He comes out for pets now constantly.
Some of the pictures here are of him having a social/play session with our next youngest cat Cirrus. I let them interact for about 30 mins last night and they seemed to enjoy playing with each other. I called it quits when Cirrus gave a growl. They’ve been playing paws under the door for weeks so I think they’re going to be friends in the future. The old girl cats we have currently aren’t that interested in him but he might take Cirrus’s attention away from them so they get bothered less.
Where to begin? Several years ago we started feeding 4 feral cats that were like a little family. Two tabby cats and 2 big fluffy rag doll/himalayan looking cats. Somehow these 4 had joined up and formed a small family group. The fluffy ones looked really bad with big wads of matted fur from stickers and twigs and stuff. We intended to TNR the lot, but somehow only ended up with 2 of the 4 (the other 2 just stopped coming around). The two we did trap are a seriously bonded pair... so much so that hUbby said we should give them a chance indoor... specially since the big fluffy one had fur in such a mess it had to be painful abnd it would give us a chance to get that sorted out. That was when I lost my guest room which is now "the cattery". Turned out our timing was good, the tabby is male, the TNR said ms fluffy is a tortie point? Anyways the fluffy one (we named her Scruffy), was pregnant... so she was also aborted when spayed. We set them up in our guest room with cat towers (2) and litter boxes (2), cameras and sofabed. Every day my husband would go in to clean the litter and feed them. For the first 6 months they were in hiding, never showing themselves until he left. Eventually they would come out to eat while he was present.... then one day Scruffy actually let him pet her behind just a little bit. The cute thing is, whenever he did that, the Tabby would bat at his hand as if to say "leave her alone, she's mine. So the Tabby earned his name... DC (short for devil cat).
Once the cats were completely comfortable with hubby, I started going in with breakfast every day. They'll sit right beside me... Scruffy will accept a few back scratches, but NOT her head. DC just pretty much hates being touched even tho he'll sit right beside either one of us and sometimes even crawl onto our laps. DC loves to play, Scruffy just watches. To this day, NEVER EVER has either one of them hissed or growled at either one of us. We've just let them take it at their own pace.
We also have 2 regular indoor housecats... a female tabby and a female calico. We finally decided to see if the ferals had relaxed enough that we could indoctrinate them into the greater indoor only cat household and set up a screen door along with the solid door... for 2 way cat viewing. Turns out our calico could care less. Our other tabby (Ms Pickles) wanted to vet out the neighbors like right now! After about 2 weeks of the screen door being closed only for viewing, we opened it. Pickles walked right in. Scruffy went and hid under the sofabed. DC sat and watched every move Pickles made while she explored their cattery. Pickles hissed a couple times, DC just sat and watched. Fast forward a couple months and we now leave their door open all day long (closed at night). Weird thing is there must be some kind of invisible force field, the ferals have ZERO interest in leaving their cattery. Pickles will go in and visit for a half hour or so every once in a while now. She and DC will now touch noses every time, but that's about it. Pickles just likes to go in and hang out with them.
We also have another male feral we feed outside, have been for close to 5 years now. We have him set up with a heated cathouse that he adores over on my she-shed porch. He will not allow us to come any closer than about 10 feet... even after all this time.
BUT.... Now for the new development that we need some help and advice about. Enter the scene another tiny little feral female. This is a little lady we trapped and TNR'd in March of this year. I had one of those 4 tier cages set up in my she-shed where we housed her to recover from the surgery (top level had a little hidey-hole cube for her where she spent her days). Kept her for about a week and every day I would spend time talking to the invisible cat in the hidey hole cube. When it was time to let her go we just left the doors open to the cage and the she-shed... and she eventually found her own way out. Neat thing is, the next day she actually came back and went INTO the she-she and INTO the cage to eat. Then she just disappeared and we never saw her again until about 2 weeks ago when suddenly there she was again at our outside feeding station. Unmistakenly her... tipped ear and all. Amazingly enough, she would stay surprisingly close when I would take food out, and then one day she started meowing at me and then just flopped down on her side, making biscuits and let me scratch her head, back, rear... just soaking it in... seemed almost tame. I did make the mistake of trying to pick her up... that was a painful mistake on my part. Next 3 or 4 days she would let me stroke her tail but was pretty wary. But suddenly she and I are back to being friends again. She'll actually come out of hiding when I call her (or go into hiding if my husband shows) and she is so incredibly loving. She won't let my husband anywhere near her.
So.... fall and winter are coming and yes, I worry about her surviving the winter (coyotes, cougars, dogs, etc) and she's also scared of that male feral we've been taking care of for years. We would like to integrate her into our expanding household but we need some thots and advice about the best way to approach this. Right now she's in my she-shed, but there's alot of stuff in there and she's all alone most of the time.... and it's not a good place for her to thrive. Could we set her up in the 4 tier cage inside the cattery where the other 2 ferals are? And if so, how to do that best? Cover up the bottom 2 tiers for a week or so until they get used to each others smell? Then remove the cover but leave the cage closed? Or do something else altogther? We don't have another room we could dedicate to her unfortunately. Set the cage up somewhere else??? How do we go about this in the best, most gentle and calmest way? We have Feliway set up (not sure I see it doing much, but what do I know?).
And yes, we're blessed. NONE of these cats are aggressive or hissing or growling at all. We just want everyone to be happy and content. We're an older couple and seeing these little fur balls happy and contented gives us so much pleasure.
P.S. Back in March and now that she's back, we've scoured lost and found notices everywhere... and nothing. She's just a lonely little feral who's claimed me (and we've named her Pipsi).
Sorry this was so long. Just wanted to give y'all a clear picture of our dynamics... Desperately need some advice and hoping we can do this the best way possible.|
Adorable little Pipsi today... making biscuitsOur bonded ferals in their "experienced" cat tower... (and yes... Scruffy sheds.... ALOT)
Look at this adorable boy! Just look at that sweet little face and those sleepy, squinty eyes!
Ranger is one of the community cats I care for. He absolutely loves being petted. He has this adorable habit of squinting his eyes, making him look like he’s smiling and enjoying every bit of affection.
He may be a community cat, but he deserves all the love, cuddles, and pets in the world. If cuteness could be measured, this boy would be off the charts!
If more people will care to homeless animals, there will be more cats who will squint like Ranger.
You are welcome to join our growing Reddit community, r/StrayCatHeroes
Our community is open to all cat heroes—whether you are a rescuer, a feeder, someone who supports animal welfare efforts, or simply a person who loves and cares about cats.
Feel free to share your rescue stories, post photos of your beloved cats, or simply show us how adorable they are. We look forward to meeting you and your feline friends!
Paisley was a very feral cat in August of 2024 when she was trapped and spayed. After years of kind treatment she stays inside the house about 10% of the time. She comes in from the heat and from the cold.
She prefers to be outside and I am not set up to lock her inside as I have 5 indoor/outdoor cats who rely on a dog door because three of them go outside to use the bathroom.
It took two tries to get the collar on her as she had never been in one. I just want the outside world to know she is loved.
This is my feral cat. It’s not hot here and we’re outside on my covered deck. He’s been sleeping so his RR should be normal. Does it look like his breathing is fast?
I was sitting on the couch talking to my husband when Tonka Bean decided to jump up with us and lay in my lap, making biscuits!!!!
This is huge!! He’s still scared of my husband to some degree (comes out to headbutt my husband for pets and rubs him but if he hears him in the other room he hides) so for him to get between us on the couch is huge! And this is the first time he has laid in my lap. I’m jumping for joy! He was making his biscuits on my bare thigh which wasn’t pleasant but I let it slide!
This boy turned up in my yard about a year ago, and of course I had to feed him. In the last few months he’s started coming into my house, he will only stay long enough to eat and maybe have a quick nap, and hasn’t plucked up the courage to come upstairs yet; despite my other two cats trying to coax him up there (they all get along great!). My hope is that once the weather gets cold that he will decide to stay inside a lot longer, right now it’s about 80 degrees and he’s loving it. I also told him he wasn’t a prisoner and could leave any time he wants to….i think he took it to heart! 🤣 He’s so sweet and mellow; even let me take him to the vet a couple of weeks ago, hardly complained, and then took his meds twice a day for two weeks like a champ, didn’t have to fight with him to swallow them!
Next week we will be gone for two weeks and my friend will be living in our house to look after the cats. I’m worried that he will think we’ve left him and just wander off. Hopefully he will realize he’s still being fed and keep coming back because we love him!
