A Ratter or a House Cat?

Cindy Georgakas

October 31, 2022

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I had a little delay in sharing my feral cat escapes with you with a published post and my unexpected trip to New York, so I thought today would be the perfect day to share the rest of the story.

Love is love when it’s given away whether in a smile, a nod, a gesture a purr or tail wag.
Cindy

If you recall from my last post I mentioned my neighbor stole my cat or my cat chose another home. If you missed that post and want to get up to speed you can read about it here. Some have 2 or 3 homes like we know, if we know cats at all. It’s kind of like having a stray boyfriend who you find out is cheating on you and you’re in disbelief because you thought you were the one and only. It stings but if you’re smart, you steer clear and move on.

In the case of Issy, I didn’t have a fighting chance because my neighbor locked him in her house and didn’t let him out, even though he was “my” cat. He was fixed and had all of his shots mind you and had a perfect life. Well, except for Hunter, the hunter, who liked to chase him and our other feral’s.

After I relinquished my Catma position to my neighbor, I would go and visit him once in awhile but it was always painful since I loved him so much.

While there isn’t enough room to take every feral into your house, you can take them into your heart.
Cindy

Amends:

I hadn’t seen my neighbor for quite awhile and I was missing Issy, so I gave her a call to see how things were going. She told me she was dying of cancer and Issy would lay with her night and day and nuzzled her head and preened her, the same way he had done with me sitting in my barn. She continued “he was the best cat I’ve ever had and I have never loved a cat more”. God knows the lady fed and owned a lot of cats and fed the neighbor hood strays, raccoons, squirrels, you name it, so to say he was the best cat was truly something.

She thanked me profusely for allowing me to let her keep him. I still get chocked up remembering this with both happy tears and sad. Right then and there, I felt a shift and wave of love knowing how perfect it was that Issy came into her life to experience love we are all so deserving of and help her make her transition. I believe we each have a soul purpose and I think Issy’s was to heal and bring love. When I saw the perfection in it, I released any animosity I ever had and just felt grateful I had raised a feral that was capable of giving this much of himself and giving her a beautiful crossing over. Her daughter and son moved into her home and always told me just how much they were grateful to me for the love their mother got in her last year with Issy.

Connection is deeper than words which you learn when you make friends with a feral.
Cindy

Caroline’s last days with Issy

By now all of our feral’s were gone but I continued to keep an eye out of course and would sometimes see a cat that might look like Star or Fia but much to my chagrin, I never did. I never gave up hope after 2 years of them being gone none the less. I adored Ollie but it was lonely without Maya around.

Halloween night in 2018 we were heading to my mom’s to celebrate Halloween and even had 2 of our adult kids with us to go visit. For the past 38 years we have gone to my mom and stepdad’s because they have a wonderful flat area and everyone makes a big fuss with decorations. We would bring about 20 of our friends and their kids there for dinner and then we would walk with the kids while they trick or treated. They were amazingly gracious.

When you love something and truly let it go, something always makes it’s way back to your heart.
Cindy

As we turned the corner, a black cat ran in front of our car and my low and behold it was Stargazer. We could not believe our eyes and I leaped out of the car and there she was right in the field down the street from us. I was in shock and so ecstatic.

Every day and every-night after that, I would go down and feed her from a distance and then she would get closer and closer to me. Sometimes, she would have eaten a mouse with blood all over her mouth while I was there and then devoured the can of food I brought for her. One night I got her to follow me to the barn which took about an hour (it’s a 10 min. walk usually) because she was clearly scared Hunter might be there and then bolted. I started bringing a cat carrier down and finally got her to go in to the carrier to give her dinner. I could have brought her home but it was so close to Christmas and all 4 of the kids and all of their friends would be piling in, so I thought better of it. It would have been a disaster with loud music and slamming and left open doors.

Was it the feral within me that wanted to rescue you so I could rescue me or my heart that yearned to love and be loved?
Cindy

I brought cat boxes to 2 different houses she hung out at and got permission from my neighbors to hang out there as well. They were thrilled to have a ratter on the property. It was like clock work and she would wait for me morning and night until I came to feed her.

Finally, the day had come when the kids left after new years and I knew it was safe to bring her home. We would have enough to deal with acclimating her to Ollie and then Hunter. Even as tame as I got her, it is no small feat bringing a feral into a house. She remained in the bathroom howling for the next week with me sleeping right next to her. Then we graduated to my daughters room and the bathroom where I slept with her every night for the next 2 months. Yes, my husband lost me to a cat. 😹

Slowly I acclimated her with a screen between the doors to Ollie and then Hunter. I got a catio so she could go outdoors and finally, 6 months later I got her a cat tracker and let her out in the day. She’s pretty reliable and has only stayed out once all night. She comes to the bell and wanders in and out but sleeps by my side or under my arm at night when Ollie the bully, doesn’t kick her out. They aren’t besties but the whole tribe tolerate each other and occasionally play.

Gaining a feral’s trust is one of the most rewarding feelings in the world.
Cindy

I went to my neighbors at Al Di La in my P.J.s every morning and evening.. It became my home away from home. Sometimes I would take my car down. They only lived there part time but one day they drove up in their car to come into their home and here I was camped out on their wall with my cat and coffee. Yikes, talk about embarrassing and they were annoyed. I apologized and drove to my home which I call La Di Da.

There’s a fixed feral down the road I feed everyday which is a story I will tell you about another time. He lives where Issy lived with my neighbor, but it’s too long to go into here. Let’s just say his name is Bad Ass Grey Cat but I’m not bringing him home as life is status quo for now and I love that.

Have a wonderful Halloween. Never give up hope, continue following your heart. Trust life’s process and may you have more treats than tricks.