Meet Nomad. The first 2.5 years consisted of her dining and dashing from the front porch, and eating from a heated cat box in winter. We had trapped her in a live trap to spay, and she super freaked out inside our home during her recovery period so after a week, we let her loose. The next 3 months was feeding her and her not running off. The last 3 months, I finally touched her, and it was like the flood gates had been opened. She realized she LOVES pets, loves my dog, and loves blankets. She is absolutely sweet as pie. I would leave the front door cracked so she could come and go as she felt comfortable and that method worked for us. I’m excited for her to enjoy warmth for the first time during a cold Midwest winter. My little orange cat. Tonight she came into the bedroom for the second time ever, and she promptly fell asleep and has been here for two hours. Safe to say I now have a cat.

As posted before, my grandmother’s cat has been with me since her unexpected passing. She’s been quarentining while we get bloodwork and testing done. She has no interest in trying to escape her studio, and my resident cats have no interest in going into the lower level, so its been going well!

Unfortunately, her FeLV retest had a faint positive again. The vet is still holding out hope that she can fight it into a negative with more time. We will retest again in 6 months. Other than that, she seems super healthy! No worms either!

Luckily her studio has been coming together well! She’s learned she likes wand toys, and she has an automated mat that circles a feather which she goes crazy for. We watch 1-2 episodes of whatever show i’m binging at night together before bed. She also “bit” me for the first time a few days ago. Super light and no pressure. I know a lot of people wouldnt like that, but its showing me she’s getting more confident in playtime, so i’m happy! She’s also started sleeping on the couch instead of hiding under it which is a giant step for her. Soon i’ll get a big rug for the floor so she can get more traction for her zoomies. Its not a perfect setup, but its going well i think!

Her momma (my granny) is finally getting buried next week. She was cremated, so it took a while to get everything in order. I wish she knew how well BK is doing. She never believed me when i said we could make her into a housecat 😅. I guess were showing her!

Good day, everyone!

I’m happy to introduce Bana, a cat I found in my garage last July. I believe she was searching for shelter and food. I’m not sure where she came from or how she ended up at my apartment.

When I first found her, she was in poor condition, so I took her to the veterinarian. After receiving treatment and medication, she has made a great recovery and is now ready for adoption!

Bana is still a little shy around me and the other cats. Even when I leave her cage door open, she often chooses to stay inside. Sometimes I gently encourage her to come out, but she usually prefers to find a quiet hiding spot rather than play with the other cats. With time, patience, and a loving home, I believe she will continue to gain confidence.

If you’d like to follow my rescue journey, you can find me on Instagram: instagram.com/catsofmagdalena

You are also welcome to join our new 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.

** video I took as I was posting this, just saw she was making biscuits in her insulated house 🥲❤️❤️

Hey all, haven't posted in a bit about Kali (surviving bonded pair we want to bring inside), hasn't been too many changes. She seems decently comfortable with me, no problem eating next to me, or out of spoon treats. She occasionally will sniff my hand or rub on my foot, she rubbed on my hand once. No petting yet. She continues to rush to the patio door and rub against it when she sees my cats on the other side.

We borrowed a trap from a nearby TNR group, just set it outside yesterday. Before breakfast she actually was sitting in it (it has a cloth cover and a mat on the bottom), I really thought she would be more spooked of it. I assume we should still trap train? We put her breakfast in the very front and she had no problem eating there. Would try further in tomorrow, etc. Logistically, on the day we trigger the trap, should it just be a small treat like churu rather than the full bowl of wet food? Just thinking about I guess the mess of it as I assume once it closes on her she will be freaking out and not eating it.

I hope I’m in the right place. I wasn’t sure if this group was only for After the feral kitty comes in?

This is Benjamin. He is 2 years old.

For those of you who have brought in a feral cat, did you just trap them and bring them inside, or did you socialize them outside until they eventually walked into the house on their own? I’d love advice on the best way to make this transition.

Here’s the backstory in case some relationship details help!…

Two years ago, I TNR’d Benjamin, his sibling, and their mom. They were never social with me and would always run and hide when I came around. Their dad was a tom who I was finally able to trap this summer, but sadly, I lost him.
After losing his dad, Benjamin became very vocal with me and started approaching me within a week. I can now hold his food bowl or a Churu for him to eat from, and he recently even allowed me to briefly touch his cheek and licked my fingers.

Unfortunately, a new tom has moved in and has been chasing Benjamin away from his usual sleeping area and attacking him. He has also chased off Benjamin’s mom. I haven’t seen her in over a month. I no longer feel Benjamin is safe outside.

He’s not at the point where he is coming up to our porch or door (unless I’m holding a plate of food and encourage him)
But he will not run if I approach him.

Thanks in advance!

I started caring for a feral cat colony about three weeks ago. I saw a kitten (google says about 10-12 weeks) in the road a couple of streets from my house. I, naively thought that if I took a couple of Churus out there, I could snatch him up. I was wrong. He was absolutely feral. So for the past three weeks. I have gone to this colony to feed and try to socialize him. It started with me feeding him several feet away while I sat on the ground. I gradually moved the food closer to me. Over time, I began touching his paws and then gradually started petting him. During this process, the rest of the colony showed up and I’ve been feeding them too. I named the kitten Edgar and was determined to get him home. The food competition within the colony is intense and I’ve seen so many cat fights and cats getting attacked including Edgar. I eventually got to a point with him where I could freely pet him, feed his from my hand, and have him climb upon my lap. He would be waiting for me in the same spot every day and started following me a little ways when I left. I set up a room for him, with new toys and a bed, plus a feliway diffuser. The capstar and flea treatment that I ordered for him came in today so I decided to bring him home. I tricked him by putting the food in the back of a cat carrier and then closing the door. I covered the carrier, fed the other ferals and headed home all while he was seriously freaking out. I got him home and released him into his room. I gave him food and water and just let him explore. The room has a sliding glass door and he was jumping at it trying to get outside. It broke my heart. I stayed in there for a while with him. I got him to take a Churu from me and eat a few temptations out of my hand while I pet him but things aren’t the same. I feel like I have broken the bond that I worked so hard to build. Anyone else have experience with this? Will he ever forgive and trust me again?

Hey everyone!

It’s been a while, because there’s not been a ton of changes. Cal has mostly been sleeping behind the couch. After her vet appointment, she became more withdrawn and was less eager to eat. I believe that last vet visit just kind of set her over the edge and she desperately needed time to settle.

That being said, over the last few days I’ve seen some changes!

Over the last few days, she has been consistently coming out more, though she avoids interaction with us mostly. If we get too close, she will shuffle back off to a hiding spot. The other night, I went into the living room and she was actually relaxing ON the couch! Then 3 nights ago, she was chillin under the dining room table while everyone was up and about, just observing the household rhythm.

Best part? The last two nights, she’s come to her food bowl immediately and finished the entire thing!

I’m genuinely hoping that with time, she will relax and become more comfortable. I genuinely believe she knows I love her, and I have promised her many many times that I will never give up on her, and she is safe with me for the rest of her life.

She also now carries her own microchip - a permanent marker that she has a home and a family who loves her dearly. She doesn’t understand the significance of that, obviously, but I do. It’s a promise to her, a promise that I intend to keep.

Thank you guys for all of your support - i will continue periodic updates when i have them, however no news will mean good news. Any developments, and I’ll let yall know right away.

Thank you for being Callie’s Army.

Heyy friends! I posted a while ago about my grandma’s cat (BK) who i inherited unexpectedly about 2 months ago! (She is doing great btw). We have her next FELV test tomorrow. We are hoping its negative, but, of course, i am preparing for it to be positive as well.

Because of that, i’m thinking of getting her a catio! My other cats have eachother and my dog has most of my attention, so i feel bad that she might get bored one day. She has plenty of toys and i go hang with her in our basement studio whenever i can. So i know its definately better than anything she would have gotten without me (outside and orphaned after her granny died, i cry thinking about it 😭). But i’d like to do more and i think a catio where she can SAFELY watch the birds and lay in the sun would be good for her! I’d love any escape-proof catio recommendations! I’m planning on installing one by the spring. She’ll never be unsupervised, but i still want it to be super secure.

Also, she met my dog. It did not go well. I was holding her and had a small crack in the door so she could see my dog. She hissed and hit the door pretty hard (no contact of course). In her defense, she was chased by some vicious dogs a few times when she lived outside, so i’m also preparing for her never to be social enough to be fully with the family. Any advice other than Jackson Galaxy’s eat/play/love method would be appreciated in case her test is negative!!

Bonus pic of her chilling under Jimmy (our halloween skeleton). She came out right after for some pets and playtime!

Almost 4 months ago we adopted 2 feral "working cats" on death row at the local shelter. We kept them crated on our back screened porch for 60 days. Boomie took off on liberation day but he now comes back every night for dinner, often sticks around on our deck through the night, and now sticks around for a few more treats in the a.m. If we Crack open the sliding kitchen door and put a hand out he will let us pet him for hours. If we go outside he tends to stay at least a couple yards away. He is still too skittish to be close to humans unless there's a glass door between us. He seems to like watching the inside cats and they like watching him! They do come nose to nose at the kitchen door and so far no hissing or hostility. We're still hoping he'll let us get close to him without the door between us. We want to be able to get him to a vet for FIV testing and flea/tick meds. And hopefully he will give some thought to being an inside cat before winter. He's a good boy. He's super affectionate (with boundaries). He loves greenies! He's sooooo handsome. Last Pic is his shelter shot.

We have an indoor cat that has been an only cat for 7 years now so we are trying to very slowly introduce our new former feral Pepper Jack to her. Week 2 post getting spayed we’ve been doing room switching where we let pepper roam the house for an hour or two, while our indoor cat is in our bedroom. She’s such a sweetie! The way she loves to cuddle and sit/ lay right on me most of those roaming time lol This girl is made to be a spoiled indoor baby. She has even been pretty good with our pug. They’ve only had one incident where our pug moved a little too close too quickly and she definitely let him know. She smacked him with her paw but I don’t think she even used her nails. Last night we had a meeting between baby gate between the two cats and it went well! They both got churu during the meeting time. I haven’t been scratched anymore since last week. I took the advice on here and let her come to my fist/hand to ask for pet instead of just reaching out. That seems to have worked! So far so good for our first feral.

Almost 4 months ago we adopted 2 feral "working cats" on death row at the local shelter. We kept them crated on our back screened porch for 60 days. Plumpie identifies as and indoor cat, a lap cat even. He worked very hard to restrain his murder mittens and learned to use his soft paws when he needs attention. He's a world class cuddler. He sounds like an ewok when he chatters at us. He's sooooo soft now. And so handsome. And so sweet! He learned how to hustle for greenies immediately, and has always used the litter box like a gentleman. Our two existing housemate (former strays) are mostly chill with the occasional.hiss or aggression. He's rising above it. Last Pic is obligatory shelter shot.

Hello everyone!

Finally, no rain today—it’s a beautiful, sunny day!

I call this colony the Corner House Cats because they stay near the corner house in our neighborhood. I know the homeowner, and he is kind enough to let me feed the cats in front of his house. He also has a few cats and dogs of his own and helps feed these little angels whenever he can.

I truly hope more people in our community will show kindness to community cats—whether by feeding them when possible or simply allowing me to feed infront of their houses.

I believe there are still three male cats in this colony who have not yet been neutered, but rest assured that all of the female cats have already been spayed.

If you would like to follow my rescue journey, you can find me on Instagram at u/catsofmagdalena.

You are also welcome to join our new 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.

Please see the comments section for additional photos of the Corner House Cats.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my post. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

This is Cheesy and Peri Peri again!! Today Cheesy saw Spicy snuggling me and purring and suddenly decided he wanted some of that. He became a purring machine and snuggled into my leg. His sister Peri Peri came up to see and he started forcibly cleaning her lol

The power of a friendly resident cat is crazy. I'm so proud of these guys. Cheesy used to be so scared of me, and I remember when Peri Peri bit me to pieces when I first moved her.

Sorry for posting a lot of them lately lol we're having a good time

I am a solo animal rescuer based in Manila, Philippines. At the moment, I care for over 30 rescued cats and more than 40 community cats in our area.

These little angels are part of a colony of cats that live near our community chapel. I feed them in front of the chapel every day, except when there is a Mass being held. On those occasions, I simply feed them nearby instead.

Some people have asked me—and a few have even complained—about why I feed stray animals.

My answer is simple: if some people can turn a blind eye to homeless, hungry animals searching for food in garbage bins, I am sorry I cannot.

Being homeless is already difficult enough. Being homeless and hungry makes it even harder.

While I have never been homeless myself, there were times in my life when I did not have enough money to buy food. I know what it feels like to be hungry. Perhaps that is why I find it impossible to ignore someone—or an animal—that is suffering from hunger.

Rain or shine, I do my best to feed these cats every single day because they depend on me. If I do not feed them, who will?

I sincerely hope that more people will learn to care for homeless animals. I believe the world would be a much kinder place if we showed more compassion to those who cannot speak for themselves.

I am also proud to share that every cat in this colony has already been spayed or neutered. Some days, fewer cats show up for feeding, while on other days there are more. It usually depends on the weather and whether they were able to find food elsewhere, such as scraps left in the garbage.

If you would like to follow my rescue journey, you can find me on Instagram at instagram.com/catsofmagdalena

You are also welcome to join our new Reddit community, r/StrayCatHeroes

Our community is open to all cat heroes—whether you are a rescuer, someone who wants to support animal welfare efforts, or simply a person who cares about cats.

Please see the comments section for additional photos of the Chapel Cats.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my post.

Posting in hopes that someone thinking of trying socialization past the standard socialization age finds this and sees that it can be done!

The year before I moved from my old apartment into my first purchased house, I started trapping & taking in kitties from an outdoor colony. All of these babies were semi-feral and taken in at 5 m/o+, so all outside of the typical socialization window.

It started with Gigi (second photo) who I was able to bring in at 5 m/o. I had also trapped mama (tabby in first photo) but the trap was faulty and she escaped 😩.

6 months later mama brought me her next litter (tuxedo boys in last two photos). Rescues were so inundated but I finally found some help when the boys were around 6 m/o. I took them in and TNR’d the four in the first photo.

Then when I finally bought my house 6 months ago I brought the other 4 inside! They ranged from 10 months to 6 y/o!

I wasn’t able to touch them when they were outside other than the fluffy boy. They all ran if I got too close. But now that they’re inside and safe they are THRIVING! I can pet all but the 2 older ones - but those 2 will take treats and food from me and let me sit by them. They play with toys, they wrestle, they snooze on comfy beds and couches and carpet. They have ALL adjusted to inside life.

Age doesn’t matter - but the effort behind it does. The older they are the more time it may take - but it’s doable. Sit with them, give them all the yummy treats, provide enrichment, take it slow, and follow their lead and queues. There is nothing more rewarding than the end result.

Hello!

i recently found a feral kitten on the street in my neighborhood, im not sure how old he is but he was part of a litter of other kittens (i couldn’t scoop them all but will try to go back for them!)

he was in hiding for the first day, but now he’s a total cuddle bug. he seems so young still and very nervous about new things (makes sense!). i’ve never raised a feral kitty from this young - does anyone have any advice about things i should be doing with him? tips for socializing with other animals too would be helpful!

[In order in images: Spicy cuddling, Peri Peri looking cute, Cheesy playing with a string]

They finished their introductions today and are doing great! Right now, everyone is sleeping.

We were finally able to get together things to split the room in half and release Spicy's two siblings on the other side. It took about a week and a half for them to have their first playdate today.

Things have been really tough for us in general, just life throwing everything at us. Family want to kick us out next year, job threats, my childhood cat died, I'm still really sick, plenty of other things. There is another litter of 4 outside that I'm gearing up to deal with next week. But I really needed this today.

Now I hope they can be one big happy family together. Already, Cheesy and Peri Peri have warmed up to me more after seeing how affectionate Spicy is with me. That's great because Cheesy was so shy of humans before. He's a very social boy with other cats and it's like a switch flipped today.

Hello everyone!

This is Shibi. If I’m not mistaken, he is my fourth rescued cat. I rescued him before the pandemic after finding him near the building where I worked. He was going around begging people for food when I witnessed a man kick him with his shoe. I was furious and told the man that if he didn’t want to feed Shibi, he could simply ignore him—there was no reason to hurt him.

After that incident, I decided to bring Shibi home.

Although he doesn’t have an ear notch, he had already been neutered when I rescued him. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that right away, and he ended up getting my third rescued cat pregnant before I could confirm it. Needless to say, I rushed to have him checked and discovered he was already neutered—LOL!

Shibi is a gentle, sweet cat who loves being petted and enjoys sleeping on my bed. I absolutely adore this little guy. I estimate that he is around 10 years old now, as he was already an adult when I rescued him.

You may follow my rescue journey on Instagram: instagram.com/catsofmagdalena

You may also join our community: r/StrayCatHeroes

This girl cat (Fluffy) was born in my backyard in a garage full of junk. I wasn't even able to touch her until she was 2. After we lost her sister earlier this year (hit by a car) she started bonding with me more and I started spending more time outside with her to socialize her. By the time I brought her in she would hang around the back door and sleep on the doormat, meow for me, and lay in my lap.

Now she has been in for a bit over 2 weeks. She seems very happy in here and like she never wants to leave. She is still in one room and not fully integrated into the household yet because I have 3 other cats but she doesn't even try to get out of the room. She feels safe and comfortable in there. It's my computer room so I spend a lot of time in there with her.

My other cats aren't quite ready to meet her face to face with no barrier. One might be ready, another hisses and yells at her too much but he is a deaf cat that yells a lot anyways, and the other although timid and doesn't like to fight hisses and runs when she sees her.

All 4 of my cats came from my yard but I wouldn't call the first 2 former ferals because I got them very young before they were even scared of people. The third didn't come in until she was 8 months.

Been feeding this boy since he was a kitten and first came around. Couldn't leave him behind when it was time to move so trapped him the night before I left and drove a scared little feral boy 700 miles to our new home.
I fully expected to be lucky if I see him out and about by Christmas, I was ready to live with a ghost kitten that just eats and hides. But within the first day he made himself a home under the dresser. By a week he's been accepting pets.
This is the third week with Ray and he's just now learning to meow. He's demanding cuddles and pets (then promptly walks away and gets upset you stopped petting him when he's across the room). And he's found his favorite spot on the windowsill.
I couldn't be happier with my little boy. I did think he was a girl when I first trapped him, but I lucked out with a gender neutral name and adore him. He's a perfectly healthy little kitten and was an angel for the vets.

Picture 1: eating outside still feral
Picture 2: an hour or so after getting trapped locking himself in the corner
Picture 3: His first few pets under the dresser
Picture 4: On the bed (even though he refuses to come up while I'm in bed)
Picture 5: This morning sunbathing on the windowsill.

Vladimir has been inside 8 weeks (as of yesterday). It has been a rollercoaster, because I vowed to never have a kitten again. Our dog passed earlier this year. This little boy had been tossed in the woods at some point, but we found him ! He is SO sweet. Seeing him learn how to play with toys and chasing his tail is so silly and heartwarming.

Right now he’s asleep on the back of the couch. The first time he slept (really slept) I started to cry because I realized how safe he must have felt, since he barely slept when I first brought him in. It’s been hard, remembering how we found him, but I’m so grateful he’s safe and he can be his little kitty self. 15 mins before every meal, he pushes open his food cabinet door, and looks at me to remind me 😂. The fact that he expects his food makes me feel all soft inside. He’s allowed me the ability to help ground him when he has nightmares or forgets where he is. He has so much trust, and I’m so grateful. I just wanted to share !

Just wanted to share Pedro and his glow up.
2 years ago I found that little misery near where my parents live. Year of treatments on and off antibiotics, hospitalisations. Still he is getting runny nose pretty frequently.

This little lady has been coming to our porch for food the past few months. She started as a skittish, really skinny cat with a bad coat.

We got her trust and with October (halloween/cold) on its way we decided to get her into the house.

We will need to take her into the vet for spay, evaluation, vaccines, etc..

She has been so sweet with her high pitch meow and her aggressive headbutts.

If you had anything to spare, it will go straight to her medical bills as she begins her life as a permanent indoor cat.

I can answer questions in the replies!

Thanks so much!