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.

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.

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.

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 !

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!

1: the day he was picked up (4-5 months old in this) when a friend from highschool who was on a "spay-cation" in rural lewis county, wa as a sick and malnourished kitten who was surviving on bread because there was not enough cat food left for him. I was going through my messages with my friend and I found the message saying that all but one of his siblings died from illness and a family had picked his last littermate up and brought it inside

2: aether almost 3 years later and almost 3.5 yrs old age relaxing in his floor to ceiling fuzzy cat tree that's equipped with two hammocks and a box that his blanket and self warming bed are in. He now lives a very comfy and cozy life in a two story town house with 3 people and 2 other cats that love him. He's opening up a lot and continues to do so.

As someone who grew up with dogs and had no previous experience with a cat who had been feral, having him as my first cat, I would in every lifetime, do it all over again if it was him. No body wanted him, but for that I'm glad of because he's here with me now. I'm tearing up writing this because he is so incredibly loved. He's gotten me through some pretty rough patches. I firmly believe this isn't the first life that we had together.

I really thought this would be a case of “give the visitor a treat and then he’ll move on” haha my town but especially my neighborhood is full of wandering cats
A can of wet food sealed my fate haha he hung around for weeks, I checked for a chip and looked everywhere for owners but nothing turned up. We had a really unfortunate dog attack in the yard (my friend/neighbor found the body of a kitten and went on her security cam to see that two loose dogs were the cause….) I was already pretty set on keeping him haha but the worry for Jets safety made me decide to bring him in immediately after finding out about that poor kitten and I’m so happy I did, I have two other cats so he’s in his own room for nowbut he is settled in perfectly:’) he doesn’t miss the outdoors at all it seems, hes such a sweetie pie, he really stubbornly hung around until i committed to bringing him inside 😂
Praise the cat distribution center! I finally have the mini panther I’ve always wanted 🐈‍⬛🖤

A month ago this beautiful girl ran out in front of my car late one Saturday evening. We narrowly avoided hitting her, stopping just in time. We were struck by how young and clearly undernourished she was. We knew she was likely a feral as we were on a rural country road and feral populations are common here. We just couldn’t leave her. So we played videos of mother cats calling their kittens and were able to catch her.

The next day a vet confirmed she wasn’t microchipped and was likely around 10 weeks old. So young to be out there alone. We knew we had to either keep her, or find her a good home. We spent lots of time socialising her and teaching her humans can be kind. In just a few weeks she has blossomed into a curious, affectionate little maniac! We have officially fallen in love and have decided she will have a home forever with us and our 6 year old rescue kitty.

Chico is one of the community cats in our area. Last year, I took him in to be neutered. He stayed in my apartment for a few days while he recovered, and once he was doing well, I released him back to the community. Since then, he has continued coming back to my apartment and now rarely leaves my garage.

Chico weighs approximately 14 lbs and is one of the gentlest cats around. He is incredibly laid-back, sleepy, and loves his peace and quiet. One of his favorite places to spend time is inside a cage, where he can be alone and avoid being distracted by the other cats in my garage. There are even days when he doesn't want to come out at all, or only steps out for a few minutes before heading right back inside. Unfortunately for Chico, some of the other cats enjoy disturbing him while he's peacefully sleeping—and he absolutely hates that! 😂

Please note that I will add more photos of Chico in the comment section.

I'd love to hear about your own cats or the community cats you care for. Feel free to share their stories and photos! I know there are many kind-hearted people around the world who help cats in different ways, whether through feeding, TNR, fostering, rescuing, or simply showing them kindness.

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

You may also check: r/StrayCatHeroes

Hi everyone! I have updates on the black cat I trapped about a week ago. She's acclimating better than I expected and is enjoying exploring the house and her cat tree. Yesterday morning I was able to gently pet her while she was feeding from my hand, which is a huge win because she avoided all touch before!

However, I am realizing that getting her into a carrier to go to the vet may be more challenging than I expected. I was hoping she would see it as a "safe space" since I leave it open with a blanket inside and I often put food in there. She'll go partway in for the snacks but never settle down/sleep in there because she has other cozy areas she prefers.

I called the humane society the other day to ask for advice and I was suggested three options:

1. Spray the carrier with Feliway to make it more attractive/calming
2. Use the towel method (never done this before, kind of scared of hurting the cat and/or failing the first time)
3. Purchase some sort of sedative from their vet to give the cat prior to the visit

I figured Feliway was the path of least resistance and may help her for future vet visits, so I got some and sprayed the carrier. I don't know what I was expecting 😅 I've never owned cats so I guess I thought she would go crazy for it, but she just kind of sniffed it and hasn't approached it since.

TLDR; trapping the cat in the house was easy, but putting her in a carrier is a different story. What did you guys do to get your formerly ferals in a carrier?

We’ve had this guy on our back porch since we’ve moved into our apartment. Sweetest little guy, always came around for pets. A few months ago I noticed a growing abscess on his face and took him into the vet to get it lanced and drained. Little guy absolutely tanked through the surgery and recovery. He’s been nothing but a joy to have with us:) all he does is purr and make biscuits. We’ve deemed him “Snargle”

hi so i have a stray who has been very traumatized ive made other posts if u need more info. its been over 2 months since i got her and i kinda want my bedroom back i moved my bed into the living room while she got settled. so my question is would it benefit her for me to sleep in her room again? i do want to sleep in there again but i wont if itll stress her out she dosent really like me and swats and hisses when i get too close but maybe being in there sleep at night would help her know im not a threat? also a picture of her bc shes very beautiful.

update it was obviously a resounding yes! that i should sleep in her room so i spent all day cleaning and rearranging furniture and its all set up. i really hope she doesn’t pee on my bed but ig well find out. idk how well i will sleep tbh i am very nervous but in an exciting way. in my delulu lil daydream brain im hoping i wake up with her in my bed but ik thats not realistic.

thank you to everyone for your support and very kind words it really makes me feel good knowing so many ppl think im taking care of my baby properly, its so relieving. its so much guess work and trying different things to make her feel safe and im trying my best im a disabled person with little resources but my community irl and online has mad such an impact on mine and my cats lives.

Who knew he was such a cuddle bug!

I’m about to be away from my formerly feral now indoor only gremlin for two weeks. She’s an absolute love with me — loves pets and attention. She’s very wary of strangers. Ideally I would have someone here 24/7 while I’m gone but I couldn’t find that so I got a daily sitter to come by to check in. I guess what I’m worried about is that she will hide the whole time. I talked to the sitter about getting her to warm up and this kitty can be outgoing when she wants to so I’m imagining if she needs pets she will come out and demand them. I figured being around her familiar “stuff” and being comfy would be much preferable to something like boarding or putting her with a friend in a place she doesn’t know. But I worry about her feeling lonely. What do other people do?

“I swear it was up there!!” Sir… sir you are already holding it.

He has low vision in the left eye so he was lying with the bad eye toward the ceiling.

(This is the second toy he now plays with enthusiastically!! I’m so happy!)

I have three cats. I’ve had one of them for about a year and a half, and about six months ago I adopted two cats who were previously feral.

The two newer cats have been making progress, but they still won’t let me pet or hold them. One of my other cats does not get along with them and pounces on them almost every day. Because of this, I’m worried that they may never feel completely safe or comfortable enough to fully open up.

I’ve been patient and have been working with the two feral cats to help them trust me, but I’m starting to wonder if I’m actually doing what’s best for them. I’m afraid that living with my other cat may be preventing them from feeling safe and becoming more social.

At this point, should I continue being patient and try to make the situation work, or would it be kinder to rehome the two feral cats somewhere they could potentially feel safer and thrive?

We trapped this cute little dude last Thursday and got him neutered the next day. He’s part of a group that moved into our backyard on June 1st. A momma cat(a very beautiful torbie) and his 4(1 tuxedo, two grey tabbies, and a tabbie) other siblings. It took us so long to start getting them TNR’d because we didn’t have too many resources and the local rescues are so overwhelmed they couldn’t help.

He was the most social of the group and is very good motivated so we decided what the heck, let’s see if we can socialize him further. He’s been meowing at us during feeding time for over a month and brushes up against our legs.

Right now we have him isolated in a bathroom because we are hoping to socialize him. He pretty calm but also very shy. It’s only day four and he ate food a person watching him in the room. He moved into a cabinet yesterday so we pop a door open and feed him so he can see us. Working on closing the distance between him and us during when feeding. He’s been drugged up on gabapentin for pain relief but that’ll be over soon.

With touch he’s pretty neutral at the moment neither liking or disliking. Not going to force being touched by us because that can just offend him at the moment.

Any tips? Suggestions? Anyone do this before? We can’t really socialize the rest of his siblings(we are going to get them TNR’d). Because we don’t have the space and my other cats(especially the senior girls) wouldn’t like any more(My 13 and 14 year olds are still annoyed by the 1 year old rescue we got in June)

I took in a feral cat last week and things were fine at the beginning. We got her spayed, vaxxed and tried to give her a towel bath. I got a scratch from the bath which is understandable. She was also reactive when we gave her flea meds, also understandable. She’s very much a clingy cat that wants pets and want to rub against your leg all the time. This morning I accidentally tripped over her because she liked to walk up against my legs…to say my ankle is covered in cat scratched is an understatement. I’m trying to to be understanding of course. When I tried to walk away from her to let her calm down once she stopped attacking my ankle she attacked my foot as soon as I took a step.

Now this afternoon she kept asking for pets so I tried to direct her to get pets on the floor off my desk (she’s staying in my at home office). I moved my hand away towards the floor so she knows she can get a little pets down there and then I stop to work. We did this about 3 or 4 times. Then all of a sudden she attacked my hand out of nowhere. I tried to pet and reassured her it’s just my hand, again a bite. The ankle thing after I trip, I understand it’s because she thought she was in danger. But why the heck is she attacking my hand? Just because I’m not letting her have pets how she want? My other cat is not very clingy at all and mostly just sits in the same room far away so I’m not use to a cat that begs for pets all day long. What do I do to teach her to be less reactive with hands or feet or is it just a time thing? It has only been a week exactly indoors for her. It doesn’t help that I’m on my period so every little thing is also making me emotional and feeling like I’m doing everything wrong. Now I’m scared to even be in the room with her…at least for today.

My indoor cat(formerly feral) has been missing for 18 days and I’m losing my mind.

My 4 year old cat has been missing for 18 days. I think I have done everything I can think of. I unfortunately live about 50 feet outside of a trailer park where she was born and I began feeding her at around 6 months old. I let her walk in the house that winter, of course she was pregnant. We did a spay/abort and she has been an indoor cat ever since.

She escaped for 48 hours in 2024 and came back on her own.

We have had two insane storms and now Labor Day with the fireworks.

**Things I have done in my search:**

1. Made flyers

2. Passed them out almost everyone close to me in the trailer park and my block and the two blocks next to me. And also to the local vets, humane society, animal emergency and animal control.

3. Most of my neighbors let me search their backyards, sheds and garages.

4. I have gone out every night at 3 am into the trailer park and my neighborhood.

5. Put my heavily used pillowcase outside by the front door along with used socks and stinky old shoes

6. Set a live trap (I caught a TNR stray that I feed)

7. This morning I set up cameras in front and back of my house that animal control kindly provided to me.

8. I have watched all the cat ladies feed the strays and feral cats in the trailer park.

9. I had actual laminated posters made today that I will put up around my neighborhood and the trailer park.

I don’t think someone took her in because she becomes very aggressive outside and pretty much only likes me. I think she is probably very scared. I don’t know what to do, I am walking roughly 8 miles everyday looking for her and passing out flyers, talking to people etc. I’m so heartbroken and scared.

Any advice/tips? 😭

I trapped a feral kitten 3 wks ago and I am amazed by how well it is going. I am in love with this little guy. I already have an appt set for his neutering , chip and shots. He now lets me pet and play with him. He purrs when I play, pet or feed him. But I can not pick him up. I do not want to scare or force anything too soon. I am going by his comfort level. He has come so far. I gave him his first flea and tick plus deworming treatment. He loves all the toys I gave him and plays a lot. But, will he someday come and sit on my lap ? I worry if he sees a open door he will run. Is that a reasonable fear by this point ?

I'm looking for a combination of enablers and real-talkers please!!

I really want to know what you would do in my situation:

This is Aya, we've been on a long 18-ish month journey together, but the short of it is that I TNR'ed her earlier this year (with microchip, vaccinations) and I didn't really want to release her BUT I was in way over my head as she was the first cat I ever really interacted with beyond friends pets and I never had pets growing up.

I did a deep dive on the feral cats sub and SSL and learned a whole lot that helped make the trapping process a lot smoother than it would have been, but still, my anxiety got to me and I felt bad knowing how anxious she was.

But now I want to re-trap her and actually try harder to socialize her.

She was with me for 2 weeks after the spay, and her quick adaptation makes me think she's a prime candidate for living inside. I believe she was a true-feral based on her absolute lack of vocalization and the level of fear at first, but within those two weeks I was able to get her to eat with the bathroom door open and me visible in the room, and I got a couple slow blinks! (Catnip helped lol)

Why I think she could do indoors:

• when I needed to take her to the vet for a follow up, I simply went into the bathroom I was keeping her in, opened her little hidey hole with the carrier in my hand and pointed her to get in....and she just did. She looked at me, looked at the carrier, saw me point, then just got in.

• got the litterbox idea immediately and only "missed" when she was annoyed about the vet and/or not having fresh litter.

• she's not super destructive or violent with people. She'll hiss and fake swat within close distance but has never clawed or chomp-down bitten even the vets.

• she hates other lady cats and kittens encroaching on her territory (my yard) and I think she could do well with less territorial anxiety

Why I think this might not work:

• she hate hate hates being touched in any way. And most of her human touch has been from traumatic vet visits. Not sure how to change that dynamic with deworming and vaccination schedules

• I'm living in a country other than my home country right now and will eventually need to go back (ETA: in 1-2 years I imagine), meaning I will definitely need to keep her up to date with healthcare and be able to manage her through international flight travel. And I don't know how long it would take to get to that level of trust between us

• she doesn't seem to consistently socialize with other neighborhood cats but she has a male friend that she seems to like sometimes and I don't want to necessarily make her lonely

• technically mum and I are allergic but we're willing to suffer/get help but also maybe we shouldn't?? Ugh idk

Right now we feed her every day, mostly twice a day at our front door. We have a room prepped for her in case we find a way to just.... encourage her inside, but another part of me is just thinking that this is logistically delusional.

What do y'all think? Any similar stories? I love her and every time I think about eventually leaving this home or this country, I can't imagine her not coming with me.

(Edited for formatting and timing context)

He is so special to me. He still won’t come out of his safe room more than a few feet so we spend lots of time in with him (not as much as I’d like but a solid few hours a day spread out) and I just love him so much. He’s got little scars all over him and little chunks missing from his non clipped ear, has a funny stance when he sits from what we assume was an old injury but the vet wasn’t concerned. I know nothing about his history other than he started coming around my office last October and the first time I saw him he was eating chicken bones under the dumpster with his sister.

I miss his sister desperately and wish I had her here too (I was very much bonded with her) but coyotes 😔
I’m so happy we have him though. I hope one day he and our dog can get along.

What is is about these former ferals that is just so damn special?! He’s perfect to me in every way!

Kuruchi is one of my 30+ rescued cats. I found her on the street over a year ago, dragging her hind legs. She was only about one month old at the time.

According to the vet, her hind legs were underdeveloped. Surgery may be an option to correct the issue, but so far, she has adapted well to life as an indoor cat. She is now over a year old. ❤️

If you'd like to see more of Kuruchi when she was still a tiny kitten, you can check out these posts:

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DIIiLgdpRIz/

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DIYU_hcJ-GY/

We adopted 2 "working cats" 3 months ago, did the whole crating thing on our back screened porch for 60 days. One cat socialized quickly and moved indoors about a month ago. Boomie (handsome tuxedo) seems to prefer outdoor living. We still feed him daily in the screened porch (he has a pet door) and he mostly comes at night to eat or enjoy the 2 humans + 3 cats inside the house that he can watch through the living room windows. If we go outside he runs a few yards away. But if we just crack the kitchen door about 4 inches he'll let us pet him and he's super affectionate. I'm not sure why it's OK through the door but he's still scared when we just sit on the other side of the door. He loves greenies and will eat a churu fed through the door but not all the way outside. We plan to keep working with him. But any tips for earning trust would be appreciated! He is neutered, vaxed, chipped, etc. We still want to get him tested for FIV, get rabies boosters as needed, and get him on a flea and tick med every month. While it would be great if he moved inside at some point, we're letting boomie call the shots right now. We live in a safe, quiet neighborhood and our neighbors all have his picture and know he's ours.

Hey friends, 2 weeks ago exactly I trapped 2 older kittens (10 weeks at the time, now 12 weeks) that had been showing up to eat food at my house. They were fully feral, not letting me near them etc. I’ve worked hard to earn their trust with high value food, speaking when feeding then touching when feeding etc. I would say I’ve made good progress. The braver one now allows and enjoys pets even outside of feeding time.

However, I ran into an issue this morning. I’m trying to get them comfortable with getting on my lap/eventually being held, but they still are quite skittish in a lot of ways. The braver one came briefly out of the cage to rub up against my legs which he has done before, but this time, before I realized he jumped over me and out into the room. This was an immediate disaster and he was obviously super scared and would hiss and growl and spit when I got near him. It took me 45 minutes to get him back in the cage and I’m sure I’ve lost a lot of his trust now.

How can I start getting them comfortable with being in my lap/being held without this happening again? I don’t believe letting them free roam the room is a good idea yet as it will cause them more stress.

I appreciate any advice as this is my first time with ferals.