Lucky

by Theresa
(Nebraska USA)

We live in a rural area on 20 acres. For well over a year, we'd occasionally see this feral cat on our property. It was very thin and coat was dull. If it even saw us standing in the window, it would run away. We left dry cat food in a dish for it on our porch every day which it eventually found.

One very bitter cold winter day it was up against the house sitting directly under a window. I slowly opened the window and dropped a scrap of meat out. It gobbled it up. I kept dropping scraps out and eventually left my hand out the window then slowly stood up. It ran off but only about 20 feet. I dropped more food and it would run up and grab it and run off. Anytime we saw it after that, we'd do this. Eventually, it gained enough trust in us that I could sit on the porch as it ate but if I came too close it would hiss. After many days the hissing quit so I tried to touch it. Big mistake..she responded with a big loud hiss, one fast swipe of her paw across my hand leaving a good scratch and ran off.

A happy ending.... She is now our house cat. She wasn't feral after all, just needed to learn to trust humans again after being dumped in the country by her former owners. She was so starved for attention that she would drool anytime we pet her for about the first month. She trusts us so much now that we can pet her anywhere, hold her, carry her, and we have never heard her hiss again. The only time we feel her claws is we get them in the way when she is attacking her toys. She even goes for walks with us around the property. She stays off all the furniture (except her own) and countertops and has never once scratched the furniture with her claws. She is very soft mouthed when playing with her. Why anyone would dump such a well mannered cat is beyond me.

On her first vet visit, we learned she has been spayed. She tested negative to FIV and Feline Leukemia and had no health issues except worms. The vet and the 2 vet technicians could not believe how gentle she was when being examined, wormed, and given her shots.

We named her Lucky because my husband said that she was Lucky she found us.
GUESS WHAT... I am very allergic to cats but I don't care. I take a pill everyday and am happy to do so.

Comment by Kate
Great Story Theresa, she looks very happy indeed. I always think it is strange that cats seem to know where to go to find a good owner. My very first cat came to us on a stormy night and just wouln't leave. we always said we had a giant invisable sign over our house saying all cats welcome. And they certainly were.

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