Feral to Family; Rescued 'Blue Eyes' Now Looks at Humans With Love Instead of Fear

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One can hardly imagine what a stray cat experiences simply trying to survive. Sadly, the streets of the world are full of stray and feral cat colonies, many who go completely uncared for. Then there are others that are lucky enough to have colony caretakers to watch over them. And it’s not an easy or often ever rewarding task. Counties rarely offer enough support or TNR (trap, neuter, return) programs to stop the cycle of breeding. So when some dedicated feeders in Florida reached out for help, they were thankfully met with open arms. Because there was one male cat with gorgeous blue eyes that was in serious need of assistance.

Blue Eyes Meets ‘Catpassionate’ Rescuers

Near Tampa, Florida, rescuer Sharon with CATpassionate Village was happy to help when contacted by the feeders. She grabbed her humane animal traps and was able to lure the cat into what would be the start of his new life. Off to the vets, he would be neutered so that there would be no babies from him in the future. The plan was to get him fixed, checked out and then returned to the location since he wasn’t very fond of humans. At least there wouldn’t be more tiny mouths to feed; the cycle eventually to be stopped there completely.

But rarely do plans go accordingly. And the boy now named “Blue Eyes” was going to need a rescuer who could temporarily care for the sassy cat. One of the most important things for TNR’d cats is getting a health exam during their sterilization surgery. Because as with many others, they found the boy was in need of ongoing medical attention. So Sharon reached out to Cat Man Chris [Poole], another Tampa cat lover ready to lend a hand to help a paw.

“While he was sedated for his neuter surgery and vaccinations, it was discovered he had a horrible ear infection. I offered to let him recover in the Catty Shack since it was December and cold outside. This would allow me to monitor him, give him his meds and also spend time with him. It was going to take a while to see if he would become friendly with me. But if he turns in his ‘feral card’, he can possibly be a candidate for adoption. Then he could leave his life on the streets behind for good.”

With a Weary Look in his Eyes, Love Finally Wins Him Over

At first, Blue Eyes was terrified simply because he was suddenly confined to a crate. Very different from being free to roam and keep plenty of distance from humans. Chris was quite used to this though, having been practicing TNR since at least 2014. He is also very aware of the 3/3/3 Rule when working with stray/feral cats. They need time to decompress and Chris has a 10×10 shed converted into the ‘Catty Shack’ just for this purrpose.

He was very scared to begin with being inside with new smells and people. But after several days of hissing and swatting, I finally started to gain his trust. With the use of Churu treats, I was able to take off my protective gloves, put down my extendable back scratcher and pet him.

He loved head rubs and was immediately best buddies with Champ, another cat I was caring for. After this breakthrough it became obvious really quickly that he would do very well living inside and with other cats. (Watch the video below to see the full on sass!)

During his time in the Catty Shack, Chris was administering medication for the intense ear infection Blue Eyes had. And that infection was a ‘doozy’! Follow up exams and ear cleanings finally gave vets some answers and a new compounded medication cleared up his troublesome ear.

His Blue Eyes Hypnotized One Special Person From Afar

Throughout these months in foster care, a lady known as Katie Cats Sims had been following his journey online. She consistently commented on the social media posts and also messaged Chris about how adorable Blue Eyes was (very true!). But while there are hundreds, if not thousands, of supportive comments on posts like these, Katie had an ulterior motive.

She said if there was a way to get him to Virginia Beach VA, she would love to adopt him and make him a purrmanent family member! And as fate would have it, his current foster Dad Manny traveled for work quite frequently. He even had a trip to Richmond scheduled…you just can’t argue with fate like that!

Katie and her friend were more than happy to drive the two hours to Richmond Airport to meet Manny and officially adopt Blue Eyes. She is an experienced foster Mom and cat lady and was the perfect match for Blue Eyes.

A Happy Update From Katie

“Blue Eyes is such a loving and sweet cat. He hasn’t hissed or swiped at me since the first few weeks I had him here. I think he just needed time and to build that trust with me since he went from being with [Cat Man Chris] to Cecilia’s home to be fostered and then to me. I’m sure that was hard for him.”

“I’ve only seen him be sweet and gentle with the other cats and kittens in my home. He looks at the foster kittens with such a caring glance and I’ve caught him playing, sniffing, and licking them a few times. I’ve started calling him Uncle Blue when he interacts with them.”

“Each morning he starts off his day by crawling onto my chest and giving me nose kisses. He needs a few minutes to cuddle with me before we get up and start breakfast. It’s just the purrfect way to start my day!”

“He does have to compete though with my other two cuddle bugs, Bru and Mila. They have both accepted his time with me and allows him to have it and then they take their turn.”

“If you asked me if I thought that our bond would be built so quickly I would have said no. I didn’t think we would get here for a year or two. Maybe he felt the energy of me losing Tom-Tom shortly before I adopted him or maybe he just loves to love… either way, I’m so thankful for him.”