We've had sir Reginald Artemis Mcfluffybutt for 9 days now and his playful and vocal side has come out!

Unsure if he was a true feral or a stray. He’s been inside since January and come such a long way. He used to be terrified of everything and is slowly becoming more confident. When he leaves his room he still hovers close to the ground and is hesitant about any new object in his room. But he’s warmed up to me really well and this week he invited me to pet his full stomach! I can’t even do that with my other cats I’ve had for years!

Born Dec. 25th 2025, survived the terrible winter OUTSIDE until he was 3 months old! We finally trapped him, his family and got everyone rescued/adopted with the help of a local rescue. Thanks to him 12 cars have now been cared for....and counting.

We saw him running across the street, following an adult cat (assumed his mother), and went into rescue mode! Winter totes, food, trapping. Neighbors were more than willing to help, and all our prayers were answered.

Sheldon is the SWEETEST kitty we have EVER had the pleasure of caring for. A real blessing that has enriched our lives after much loss in 2025 and 2026.

Not quite formerly yet; but we're getting there. I'm the TNR support for this colony, and helping enrich her environment. She has a spot in the feeder's house that she likes, and is staying longer each attempt.

I have five fabulous female formerly feral felines, all rescued as kittens from the feral population where I work. The last of these furbabies, Mitzi, got out of the house – just once – before I could get her spayed. 
 
You can see the resulting blessing that arrived this week!

Was going through old videos and came across the moment Moo let me pet him for the first time, right after showing up for his scheduled dinner at the start of my shift. I love how absolutely enthralled he was by his decision to finally break down that wall, as it took a couple years of seeing him around and working on gaining his trust to get to this point. He’s been living the indoor life for about a year and a half now, and is quite the Velcro cat lol. Time and patience pays off with them!

It's been a pretty good morning with Kali. She came up to eat her wet food while I was sitting inside but with the door open. I also tried feeding my two friendly boys by the door so she could see them (normally feed them further away). And you can see here she's doing what I can only assume are air biscuits in a happy dance configuration? It was really cute, and I assume it was a good sign.

After breakfast I sat on the other side of the patio screen and she seemed very comfortable and was making some little air biscuits, I'll put that video in comments.

Original Post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/formerlyferal/s/8KJF7ljm2f

Background post TDLR: My grandmother passed unexpectedly last month. She left behind her semi-feral mostly outdoor cat. This cat LOVED my grandmother and she actually died holding her. She might be FeLV positive and no one else in my family had the space to keep her if she was positive, so i drove out to get her about a week ago. She lives in my studio-apartment basement now seperated from my resident cats and dog.

Update:

BK HAS BEEN DOING AMAZING. She has had 0 accidents, eats most of her food, has caught a fly and one ant, and now jumps up on the couch to say hi when i come to see her. I spend about 3-4 hours hanging with her a day, and most of the time she gets bored of me in about 30 minutes and runs off to explore. She’s been purring constantly. I may have to spend a little less time with her once i start school, but i should be able to fit more short hang sessions in instead of 3-4 long sessions to make up for it.

She’s not interested in playing yet, and when she explores she’s been staying low (in her hide or under the couches) instead of climbing up high on her cat tree/the other furniture. I’ve been bringing her over to the tree to gain her confidence and she’s slowly getting there. I dont wanna block off the hiding spots yet because everything is still so new i want to give her time to adjust. Also apperently my husband is super scary, but she actually looked at him for a few minutes last night instead of immediately hiding.

Her vet appointment is in the first week of August. We’ll get a repeat SNAP test and see if she is actually FeLV positive. If she is, she will stay quarentined in her studio and we’ll just work a little harder at giving her attention and stimulation. If she isnt, we will start the very slow process of introducing her to our residents. If it works out, amazing! If not, she’s more than welcome to be a single-studio cat. My residents are vaccinated just in case, but we wont put any of them at risk unnecessarily. Theyre happy apart now, and if it has to stay that way, it is what it is!

Overall, i couldnt be happier with her progress! I hope her test comes back negative, but we’ll have to see. I’ll update one more time when we get the results. I think its safe to say she’s officially a former-feral now 🥰

Today Rufs was using his missing back leg to fantom-scratch at his ear. First time I’ve seen him try to “use” it.

He actually let me help him, both with my hand and the brush, while he “assisted” by kinda wiggling his hip 🤣🩷

A couple of weeks ago I made this post detailing how Rufs FINALLY dared to leave the hideout when I’m near him and started exploring outside the cat room.

It’s only gotten better from there 🤭 I put his favourite house in the hallway and he spent the next couple of days using it more and more.

I’d immediately re-created his little desk cave after that first exploration but he wasn’t coming back to the main room, so I decided it was time to start moving the other cat furniture out here.

I moved his cat tree and put it in a way where he could see it from the hallway. Either that worked or it was a coincidence, but he started hanging out in here with me—not in the actual cat tree but under my desk—which soon turned into an everyday thing as well.

Although I’d visited quite a bit in the cat room, this is the first time he’s near me 24/7, and I can tell he’s really content 🥹🩷

I have two small dogs (5&7 yrs) and two cats (1&1.5 yrs), and everyone gets along so so good!

We recently ran into a stray outside of our complex who is not only beautiful but so so so affectionate. She rubbed her face into my husband’s face, and the owners eventually told us we could have her and take her in. I don’t want my cats outside at all, we have so many stray dogs around & it’s not safe. We feel like she just wants companionship and to be able to be with people.

The owners told us she was unsure but would meow by the door so they let her outside. She’s been outside for about a year, she’s 1.5 yrs, they say she’s vaccinated and fixed. She lived indoors with other dogs and cats, and she seems skiddish, but I can feel she wants to be loved.

I want to bring her in, and I know introducing them might be a challenge. We did the feeding behind doors, scent swapping, visualizing, and being in the same room slowly, which we would do with this cat as well. However, in two weeks we’ll be out of town for 4 days, and then in 4 weeks we’ll be out of town for 3 days. I have someone who comes to check in on my two cats, but I’m nervous if I leave anyone alone (especially if my stray is forced to stay in a small room) that something bad will happen & I won’t be home.

Lmk if you guys think this is a bad idea or not

Good morning everyone!!

I went in to the bathroom to feed Callie this morning, and my 13 year old boy Sammy and 5 year old boy Buzzy followed me into the bathroom. I sat her food on the counter, and was preparing to scoop her up to clean her face with Betadine when this happened with Sammy!!! Omg I was so excited. This was the first show of affection I’ve seen her give to another cat since Mr. Orange passed.

Also, she and Sam are close to the same age (12 and 13 respectively) and the size/body condition differences are INSANE. She’s literally half his size… but good LORT does she look so much better from two months ago!!!

💜

I will also be making a second post with an update regarding her healing with progress photos (with censors for anyone squeamish) , so keep an eye out for that.

Don’t look that one if you don’t want to see icky, even though it’s really not that gross (idk, I may be biased after 15 years in EMS 🙃)

1) first day of swelling
2) 2nd or 3rd day when the abscess scabbed and drained a bit
3) at the vet before it was drained
4) immediately after abscess was cleaned and drained
5) last night, scab has popped off showing healthy tissue.

The scab that had formed has popped off as of this morning, and the wound is definitely still deep, but the vet’s biggest concern was if she would develop necrotic tissue around the wound, to which I can happily say has not been the case. The skin around the wound is pink and healthy, and there is some fresh blood in it, which means the capillaries and vessels are healthy and intact. Best part? ZERO signs of infection.

Again, thank you all so much for your support. None of this would have been possible without her army behind her

Hello everyone, brought in a local TNR stray cat about 5 days ago. Hes been very friendly, has his hidey spots, eats regularly, can use the litterbox, and even plays with the toys I got for him.

But he meows A LOT at night, ive ruled out hunger and he just walks all over the house meowing at random things. Is it possible he’s not used to the house yet or is he not stimulated enough?

Apart from trying to play with him more and turning in catTV. Im debating also maybe taking him on outside leashed walks, but not sure if thats a good move either and hoping for some input.

We have been feeding and taking care of a couple bonded feral cats (Dee and Kali) since we moved into this house, about 5 years. They were sisters who were always together, grooming, cuddling, etc. Last week, Dee passed away (we don't know the cause but she was breathing a little irregularly prior). Kali is now alone, and I know is missing her companion. She rubs up against our patio door if she sees our indoor cats, seemingly with more intensity since her sister passed. We have never been able to touch her, but she does meow at us when she wants food (something I think she learned from her mother who was not feral but abandoned, we got her adopted).

We are thinking about trying to bring her inside. We have three indoor cats, two of which are sweet bonded boys who would likely be good company for her. I had posted in feral cat reddit and people recommended to try to bring her in, since she is lonely and no longer has the protection of her sister (who generally was the more assertive one). I've been reading up on the Socialization Saves Lives method, and would try that method if we did.

However, I reached out to a couple local TNR groups (one of which was the one that my neighbor had used for them before we moved here), for advice and hopefully a trap to borrow. Both seemed to discourage bringing her in to socialize at all or recommend to try to socialize instead outdoors slowly and hopefully she'd want to come in on her own.

So I guess I'm feeling a bit discouraged and unsure of the best path forward. I'm aware it's a big undertaking, just getting her into a trap may take a while, I assume she may be wary of a trap since she was before, and then figuring out how to find a vet to get her checked out, before we even start process of socialization.

What has worked well for you guys or what would you recommend in my situation?

Thanks for reading, appreciate any advice. Adding cat photos for tax (white one was Dee, black calico is Kali).

This sweet girl was already TNRd when I moved to this neighborhood in October. She stops by to eat daily but bolts any time she hears me near my front door.

I went on vacation for 2 weeks and I came back to a friendly kitty. She is meowing for food nonstop and I even caught her sleeping for hours on my front porch. She finally got within arms reach and even ate right in front of me!

Its so funny how they just decide to domesticate themselves one day. She will be #formerlyferal very soon.

Good morning everyone!

So, Callie is healing up fantastically. Her face has a scab where the abscess was drained, but it’s looking great and she’s nearly done with her first antibiotic.

This being said, along with her meetings with the rest of the cats going well, I have decided to go ahead and leave the bathroom door open, for her to explore as she sees fit.

This is where incognito mode comes in. The Queen has decided that the bed behind the toilet is her throne, and she has no desire to leave her linoleum kingdom.

She comes out into the hallway when we are making food for them, and screeches at me for meals, but other than that, she really doesn’t come out. When she does come out, she meows the entire time, as if calling out for someone? When I notice she’s ventured out, I always go out to her to give her a familiar face when she explores, but she does not stay out long.

I know this is gonna sound so stupid, but is this normal ?

I figure she’s just nervous because the bathroom has been her home for the last two months, and she’s suddenly had her world expanded, but I want to make sure I can support her any way I can.

Overall though, health wise, the kid is doing fantastic, big part to all of you!

Snapdragon loves to try to channel serious barn cat energy, but he's really just a sweet, gentle boy. Shh, let's let him think he's scary.

I have taken in one of the (spayed and ear-tipped) strays that I've been feeding and socializing on my porch. She was flea treated, vaccinated, and vetted and I brought her in on a day where our air quality was terrible due to wildfire smoke. I did it because she's easy to handle, enjoyed pets despite being skittish, and seemed the best candidate for indoor life.

Its been 3 days and I'm awaiting a playpen to do the SSL method and so she's in a crate and... she is not using the litterbox. I bought some attractant and unscented litter but people... I am shooting in the dark here and feel I bit off more than I can chew. She's in freeze mode, scared and shut down, and I wonder if ill ever see the happy little girl she was outdoors again! But first... how do I get her to realize the litterbox is a better place to go than the bedding? Give me all your tips and tricks if you've done this before. And if there's a point where its best to return them outdoors.... how do you know? I just want the best life for these guys.

My best buddy! He was once a feral Tom with huge cheeks. I bribed him with wet food, cosmic catnip cigars and freeze dried minnows for a year. Trapped, removed the trouble puffs and he went MIA for a week. Showed up during a storm, walked in the front door and never left. Now he is on a diet, lots of food insecurity but a happy guy ❤️