Letter from A Homeless Cat 

 
 

Dear Caregiver/Colony Manager: 

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Thank you for the food, the boxes to sleep in, and the spay/neuter surgery.  What I really need is a home where I am safe, someone to love me, and the peace of mind from knowing I matter to someone.  It is a myth that if you put out some food, I will be fine.  I am not fine.  I appreciate the food, believe me.  But while you are in your warm bed in front of the TV, I am getting rained on and I am afraid.  There is no place for me to sleep where I feel safe from predators.  I know you mean well when you feed me and take the time to help keep me and my friends from reproducing.  More than anything, I know that society has been conditioned to believe that ferals like me cannot be tamed or would be unhappy in an indoor home.  This is a lie that people tell themselves.  For my sake, please do not believe that! 

 

How happy would you be sleeping under a parked car while it is snowing?  Or trying to find shelter from hurricane-type winds?   I am merely existing out here and trying to survive from one day to the next.  It would turn my whole life around if you would love me enough to give me an actual home.  Why can't I come home with you?  I might be nervous at first, but I will adjust and grow to love indoor life.  I want to be the cat that looks out the window, not at the window, from across the street.  I want to be the cat that sleeps on your bed while you are at work and waits for you to come home at night.  I want to be the one who sits next to you while you watch movies.  Not the one who almost got hit by a car today.  If every person who cared for ferals would open their home and heart to just one and ask a friend to do the same, and so on, we would all have homes.  It is my hope that you will one day make this connection.  In the meantime, I am suffering out here. 

 

For anyone who doubts that a feral cat cannot be tamed or live indoors happily, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures and peaceful faces that prove otherwise.  Giving me the opportunity to be a part of your family and to be one of those happy faces would be my dream come true.  Your dream is to win the lottery.  Mine is to just have someone to loves me, a name, and a safe place to call home. 

 

At the rate I am going, I will probably only make it 3-4 years.  If I could grow old indoors, I could live 10-20 years in some cases.  You have a full life to keep you busy. And I am grateful that you think enough of me to feed me.  Just know that after you feed me and walk away, I am wondering when my next meal is going to be, where I am going to sleep that night, and when you are going to decide to love me?   Every time I see you, I keep hoping today will be the day.  If you can give me some compassion and understanding, I will give you my unconditional love for the rest of my life.  I am waiting on you (or someone) to turn my life around.  I am worth the effort.  I am praying for a kind, loving soul to realize this.  Thank you. 

 

The Hopeful, Homeless Cat