A Rosie Outlook on Life

Rosie, a former feral cat, began a new adventure with her new family.

Editor's note: The following was reprinted with the permission of Affluent Magazine.

By Nancy Peterson and Nancy Griffin

Fall was in the air when the young cat appeared. If she wasn't around when dad put her food out on the deck, he would rap a spoon on her dish and she would come running out of the woods. Dad finally managed to trap her and her kittens, but the kittens were able to escape and so he released her to be with them. There were at least two kittens from her second litter, but they could not be trapped and, like the first litter, disappeared as well.

Dad called the local animal hospital and was referred to a person who worked with feral cats. Despite his expertise, it took three days to trap her. He took her to the local animal hospital and, with financial assistance from the shelter, she was spayed, vaccinated, tested for feline leukemia and immunodeficiency virus and flea bathed. Dad and mom feared that she would not get along with their cat, Ellie May, and asked their daughter to take her. They finally managed to get the cat out from under the bed and into a carrier. So began a new adventure for Nancy Griffin and Rosie.

Rosie had access to the living room, kitchen and dining area and a set of stairs that led down to a finished basement. No sooner was Rosie out of the carrier, than she immediately ran down the stairs and hid under a chair. Nancy often sat on the stairs and talked softly to win her over, but Rosie didn’t budge. At night, Rosie howled and scratched at the windows. Nancy was very tired and despondent. She thought about bringing Rosie back to her parents’ yard. But, another winter was approaching, the coyotes were hanging around and Nancy feared that Rosie would not survive as she had the previous three years.

Fortunately, Rosie settled in more and more with each passing day. Nancy gradually moved Rosie's litter box to the spare bedroom and brought her food and water bowl up to the kitchen. Rosie got used to Nancy’s constant chatter and became less afraid. After about a month, there was a big breakthrough – Rosie let Nancy touch her briefly. Although Nancy opened the other bedroom door to give Rosie the run of the house, she still spent a lot of time peeking out from under a bed skirt.

It’s been a year now and Rosie has become the funniest, sweetest little cat. She frequently follows Nancy around the house and knows "Do you want to get brushed?" and "Come on, time to go to bed." She sleeps with Nancy and loves to cuddle up around her neck. Rosie has a soft pink fuzzy blanket that she likes to lie on, but prefers to sleep on a placemat on the kitchen table. These days, Nancy tires from tossing Rosie’s toys around and Rosie likes to rub her tooth on Nancy's toes. Nancy loves her Little Rosebud to pieces. And although Nancy's parents, Paul and Dorothea Griffin, both in their 80s, look forward to seeing Rosie when they visit, they still have to get on the floor to catch a glimpse of her under the bed.

Feral cats are the offspring of pet cats or other feral cats who have not had human contact and fear people. Feral cats and kittens commonly live in groups known as colonies. A strategy known as Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) has helped many cats. Kittens, who are young enough to be socialized, and lost or abandoned pet cats can be adopted, but most feral cats do not adjust to the pampered life of an indoor pet. To learn more about TNR and be part of the solution, visit www.humanesociety.org/feralcats.

Nancy Peterson is the Feral Cat Program Manager in the Companion Animals section of The HSUS.