When an extremely fluffy tabby cat popped up on the Cole and Marmalade social media pages, people were shocked. And better yet, he was named ‘Squatch’. Just like his elusive and captivating namesake, this furry creature had stalked his ‘prey’ from afar. Until that all changed…and here’s his tale from our thankful family.
Moving Into Squatch Territory
In November of 2021, we, the CaM Fam purchased our first, and forever, home, just North of Tampa, FL. It was a foreclosure and had been abandoned for at least 6 months. Clearly the acre property had also been neglected for much longer, and nature had reclaimed the land. Overgrown Florida jungle would have been more appropriate for the listing. But a large project has never scared us away. Little did we know that it would take over 2 years to renovate and would result in a new family member.
Photos: (top) The house when we first saw it in Nov 2021. (bottom) after the overgrown plants were removed in early 2022
As we began the cleanup, we spotted numerous cats hanging around the property. I mean, if humans weren’t going to use the place, someone should right?! The first we saw was papa. He was so elusive that we were never able to trap him. But there are many farms and large open fields near the area and we discovered other feeders as well. So even though dozens of traps were set over literal years, we never got him. We always keep an eye out though to this day and have made contact with a few feeders in the area to help.
But back on February 16th, 2023, we spotted a female tabby hanging out with papa. Thankfully the homegrown catnip in the yard helps bring them directly to us. We knew what they were likely up to…so we started working on trapping her too.
Mom (Barbie) and Dad (Cheeks) spotted snacking on catnip plants
Ugh. Kittens Show Up
And because nature takes it’s course, we soon spotted 3 kittens. The neighbors had never stopped feeding mom and dad, meaning they weren’t interested in the food in the traps at all. With a deep sigh of devastation and failure, we adjusted the plan to account for more tiny mouths that needed to be rescued.
A mini Squatch on the left, Lloyd the Void on the right.
While their names came later, there were 3 kittens. Two tabbies, one long and one short hair, and one black kitten. Thankfully, Chris was able to trap mama, named Barbie and all three kittens. She was spayed and all three boy kittens were neutered. At that point, the entire family was fully in their feral feels and they were released back into the yard where we could at least keep feeding them. We could also monitor them for any medical issues and continue working on socializing them.
We set up insulated shelters because, yes, Florida gets frigid in Jan/Feb. Cameras were placed all over the yard as well to monitor nighttime activities. The area later had coyote warnings a few miles away so we set up sensors as well along the property line in back.
Construction Chaos
The one item we had on our house wish list that was mandatory, was a pool. By the time the construction and demolition from the previously neglected pool began in summer 2023, the cats had decided the yard was too chaotic. They all disappeared into the overgrown and mysterious jungle in the backyard once again. By the end of the year, the pool was finished (no, we still haven’t revealed the aMEOWzing new pool). The yard was quiet once more.
What in the horror show was this?! This was what the previous pool looked like…
But then the tabby boys showed up again! And we began setting out food by our back shed. They would happily eat the offerings, but stayed distant. At first we called them the “Tabboys” and the one with the fluffy tail was “FT”. He was much more curious about humans than his brother, but they refused our love.
We attempted to bribe them with YEOWWW catnip bananas and they were THRILLED with them. The yard was littered with rain and drool soaked bananas and silly stray cats enjoying life. The two tabby brothers were always together and bravely explored the yard and new pool. 
Every once in a while, their sleek black brother would pop up, but he tends to stay near the neighbors home who also feeds. At least we know he’s eating and can be monitored. Chris named him Lloyd the Void.
But then the 2024 hurricane season hit.
Hurricane Milton legit sat over our home for almost an hour with wind speeds equivalent to an F1 tornado. The yard flooded so much we had to purchase an inflatable boat to get to the back shed. And all we could think about were the cats outside. We were extremely lucky to live in a brick home though (another wish list deal breaker). It wasn’t the first severe weather the felines had survived, but ideally it would be the last.
Squatch demonstrates his climbing skills. We regularly found him on the roof in the winter warming up on roof tiles.
However, we’ve never seen mom or dad since. When caring for feral or even stray cats, when they go missing your heart breaks with every breath. But we try to focus on the fact there are barns nearby and many acres of undeveloped land. In our hearts, they are frolicking in fields of flowers and chasing lizards.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
As life moved on, the ‘Tabboys’ became regulars in the yard. On the side of Chris’s Catty Shack they enjoyed two meals a day and shade from the Florida sun. Over time, they began to trust Chris more and more. They were officially given the names Squatch and Gerald. Why Squatch you ask now though? Because that boy has the biggest NON polydactyl paws! Plus, Chris is a huge bigfoot guy so it just made sense.
Squatch and his glorious fluff
Squatch was the first to really accept humans and was helping Gerald to come to this conclusion. Very, very slowly. He actually enjoys when Chris kicks the futbol/soccer ball and he runs after it. Video coming I’m sure =) Gerald still said ‘no thanks’ and side eyed us wearily.
Then one day in late 2025 we were working in the yard. The garage door was open all day and at some point, Squatch had decided to explore the chaos. When he didn’t show up for dinner that night, we shook it off. But the next morning he still wasn’t there and we began panicking. Chris drove around the area but thankfully didn’t spot anything. Then I went to grab a soda in the garage fridge (if your from the North, you get it) and had a thought. What if he had hidden in the garage? Must have been angel Cole helping because I looked up and saw this.
It was then that we knew Squatch would likely turn in his ‘feral card’ someday.
But Gerald was still not having it. And it would take almost another year before Chris was able to pet either of them during Churu feedings.
And on April 10th, 2026 we happily introduced the brothers to the CaM Fam on our Facebook page.
Meet SQUATCH & GERALD
~ They’re our two outside handsome brothers that we care for and over the past couple of years I’ve got to the point where I can pet them both… Squatch is the friendliest and lets Jess pet him sometimes too… Gerald will need more time with Jess (and cat treats)
“Our worst nightmare happened. I found Gerald.”
We never thought Gerald would be in the house before Squatch. He now sits on the mantle by Cole. RIP goodest boys. 
The first photo of Gerald from the yard camera
The Squatch Plan Kicks Into High Gear
This jump started our plans for getting Squatch used to being inside. Since the inside kitties spent lots of time on the screened porch, they had seen both boys for years. This helped the socialization process of introducing the cats to each other. Because there was no way we could let Squatch stay outside and he belonged with us. He was born here and would remain here.
So we started by letting him stay on the porch overnight. He happily and bravely ventured inside with the help of treats. With the many windows, the other cats could watch him and they could then smell his scent on their next porch outing. Slowly we are introducing him to them all face to face.
Many of you saw the video of him meeting Marm and Bond and Marm licked his head to our shock. What you didn’t see was the next attempt where Marm remembered he was the boss and tried to assert ginger dominance with a mini tantrum. But they all get better and better every day, because it is NOT A QUICK PROCESS TO INTRODUCE ADULT CATS!
Squatch and His New Siblings
Ziggy and Jugg spend the most time with him on the porch and in human mom’s craft room. He’s found a dark spot in the closet that must remind him of being under the shed. We don’t even have to monitor those 3 together which is a huge relief. Although Zig likes to remind them both she is the meownager of the room.
Marm and Bond have boy time with him and snacks on the porch with our supervision. Mazikeen and Calypso have not met him face to face to date because they are, I saw this with all the love, furry psychos. =) It’s likely their kitten-ness still, but with treats, all things are possible.
And the #1 best thing about Squatch? He literally has no “sass” to his squatch. If one of the other cats hisses at him, he immediately drops to the ground in submission. It’s the cutest and saddest thing to see, but hopefully that won’t last forever. Because he’s now got 2 tortie sisters and 2 more girls that talk like they have debates they’re practicing for.
Thank you so much for welcoming Squatch into the CaM Fam!
He LOVES belly rubs from mom, which is crazy for a former feral. And his fur is SO SOFT like a thick stuffed animal, with curly fur on his belly. His catnip bananas are still his favorite toy and they are all over the porch for him. He also uses the porch cat shelves more than any other cat. While on nice, non rainy days, he still goes outside in the morning, it’s becoming less and less as he accepts the indoor life. He doesn’t seem to be distraught without Gerald, which was a big concern for us. So we will continue to shower him with love and thank him for choosing us.
Squatch in front of the ‘portal’ in our backyard Jess made
