This photo says so much. On one side of the door is our Cocomelon, safe and sound in our house. On the other side is Bud, a handsome feral Tuxedo we’ve been working with for months. He wants to join us — you can see it in his face — but he’s hesitant and frightened, caught between his desire for food and comfort and his fear of the unknown. It’s so sad. But you know me: I love a challenge!
NEWS FLASH: The challenge paid off! On October 19, Bud summoned all his courage and came in from the cold. We’d tied the mudroom door open from the outside and put a gate at the end of the hallway with Helen Rose and Cocomelon luring him in. Buddy came inside to see Helen and Coco… and the rest is history! On October 21, he went to the vet, and we learned he is 8 to10 years old and has many missing teeth. He got a dental cleaning and an ear cleaning and was tested and vaccinated. He’s adjusting well, and we feel he’s relieved to be inside. He’s a good boy.
Because October 16 was National Feral Cat Day, I want to share Bud’s whole story. So, here goes I first became aware of him last winter when he lived on the grounds of a condo complex, where residents fed him and his Calico sister, Callie. Without a kitty shelter, they lived in the bushes. When the landlord told the residents they’d be evicted if they continued feeding the cats, a resident contacted me.
My colleagues at North Shore Animal League America spent weeks trying to trap them, and after catching Callie first, they finally got Bud. Both were taken to NSALA for medical exams and sheltered in a cozy room until we figured out their future. Once the winter months were behind them, they were relocated to our property. I had a spacious shed and “catio” prepared for their transition, with beds and cat trees, toys and window perches, and plenty of nutritious wet food. There, they were cared for and fed for the next seven weeks to acclimate to their new territory.
When the weather finally warmed in May, we opened the shed’s kitty door. I followed the exact protocol I’d received from experts to ensure the best chances of their permanently staying on our property. But sadly, Callie bolted, and we haven’t seen her since. I’m still having the residents at the condo complex check daily in case she ventured back there, which cats have been known to do. Who knows, maybe she’s still trying to get there. It breaks my heart!
Poor Buddy was so lonely. He cried at our doorstep all day long. Howard and I talked to and fed him multiple times a day. I kept our mudroom door open for him to join us inside, but he wouldn’t step in. He came close to us but retreated if we tried to pet him.
Knowing it would get cold soon, Howard and I lost sleep over him. Bud loved it here but wouldn’t use any of the dozen insulated kitty houses we provided; instead, he slept in the bushes, just as he and Callie did at the condo complex. He didn’t even go back into his warm starter shed, which was probably for the best, as a family of raccoons, a possum, and a fox had decided that the shed belonged to them. We have multiple cameras, so we knew what Bud was up to every second, and the daily drama of the animals in the shed is now my favorite reality show.
Speaking of reality shows, here’s a video of Howard and me trying to persuade Bud that life would be beautiful if he let his guard down.