Open Letter To A Feral Cat Shows That A Little Love Goes A Long Way

This melted our hearts

Rachel

• Published in Animals
• July 9, 2019

It has been estimated that there are seventy million stray cats in the United States alone. It is incredibly sad that so many animals go unloved. However, feral cats cause property damage, reduce bird populations, carry diseases and reproduce at high rates. Stray cats often get taken to shelters and unfortunately, many end up killed.

This post shows, though, that with a little bit of love, stray cats can become your best friend. With a little bit of patience and care, stray cats can learn to trust people; breaking the cycle of feral cats—for one cat, at least. This person proved that taking a chance on a stray cat can have beautiful pay-offs. 

A Reddit user made a post titled: "Audrey I know you sneak into my room at night."

It was posted on Reddit, and was an open letter to their (formerly feral) cat.

Read the letter below

"Audrey when we found you, you were 1/2 dead and 100% feral. I’m glad you grew out of attacking everyone. Only took 4 years. I’m glad you’ve learned to allow the occasional family friend to pet your head....only the head anywhere else and you bite and that took 8 years. I’ve accepted that you don’t really like humans and are happy just doing your own thing. But can I tell you a secret? I know you come into my room at night and snuggle me. You’re not exactly sly. First of all you weigh like 20lbs. You’re a fat cat. So I can feel when you walk all over me. Also girl you purr like a freight train when you’re happy. And you tend to drool on my face when you stare at me. You always come in once you think I’m asleep and bail when I start to wake up. You’re not as sly as you think you but that’s okay. I love you very much and it makes me so happy you show me love in your own special way."

A picture of the magnificent creature was demanded

CaptLag

"can we get a picture of Audrey?"

Sed_lyf

"Yes, it is our right, we demand the cat tax"

The OG poster complied! Meet Audrey!

The story resonated with a lot of users.

pbtaverna:

"That’s very sweet 💕 Thanks for loving her, most people don’t care about animals who do that. She’s very lucky to have you 🥰"

skeletoorr:

"Thank you. I love her very much. I woke up this morning to her staring at me. And the minute I opened my eyes she chirped and ran away. Which is really funny because she has a saggy belly and it’s the funniest thing watching her run."

Some users were a little confused...

katobabee:

"Amazing and wholesome. My grandma has rescued cat (Sadie) that was very unfriendly towards everyone except for her. Sadie would hiss at everyone that even glanced at her at first, but after some time got to where you could pet her and she would enjoy it until she realized you were touching her. One day when I little I was taking a nap on the couch with Sadie’s favorite feather comforter, and I woke up to find her loafed up neatly on top of my legs. I was terrified at first but now it’s a happy warm memory for me. It always warms my heart to see people rehabilitating and nurturing “hard” animals 💖 thanks op for reminding me"

And others reflected on their own experiences

Sdbtank96:

"Can I just congratulated you on your paragraph structure. I don't know why, but i really like how you waited till later to reveal that your talking about your cat. It felt so organic and refreshing to me."

Skeletoorr (OP):

"Wait, seriously? Thank you! I’ve wanted to go back and edit it but it’s how I felt right in the moment. Thank you. I really take that compliment to heart."

It's incredibly rewarding when a "hard" animal decides to love you

HopelessRoomful:

"For the first few sentences I thought this was about a feral child"

beloncia:

"I thought it was a thief and then a ghost (??????)"

agsut:

"At first I thought it was a crazy ex sneaking into their house"

It was a very well-written post

percythepenguin:

"I started reading this as a fucking horror story"

Skeletoorr:

"A good story teller knows how to draw an audience in."

This is so sad

Used2BPromQueen:

"I too rescued a feral cat. A litter of kittens had been found by carnival workers and handed out that night as carnival prizes to game winners. The people that won the kitten that came to be mine were abusing the shit outta him for fun. I kidnapped him (or is it catnapped) and brought him home. He was soooo AWFUL for the first few years. He was so sadistic we named him Diablo. Attacking ours legs as we walked around the house, hissing at and attacking our guests, creepily murder stalking you while you were just tryna watch TV. I still have a couple scars here and there from his most vicious attacks.

He was with me for 12 years before he passed away of cancer. He slept across my legs every single night of those years. He greeted me at the door everyday when I came home. He would never be in a room I wasn't in and followed me everywhere I went in the house. He loved me...... and my God do I love and miss him."

It just goes to show that putting in the effort to tame a stray cat can have beautiful results

Cat love > dog love

valexanie:

"The unconditional love of a dog is great, but there's a lot to be said of the conditional love of a cat. You earned that."

Rachel