A rescuer who goes by “Gleam” on TikTok inherited her father’s barn cats after he passed away. She shared a heartwarming story of how she socialized two of them over a year until they became snuggle muffins. She also became an overnight rancher in the beautiful and “magical” mountains out west.
The barn cats’ names are Bebe and Boo, both grey tabbies who are never far apart. Bebe is marbled, while Boo is a lighter grey. Their close bond may have helped as they learned to trust humans.
“Bebe and Boo are each other’s everything,” the woman says.
Images and media via TikTok/daveyandpoppysplace
The ranch is home to several goats, donkeys, horses, chickens, a peacock, a dog, and eight cats. Four of the cats were inherited. All of the animals are family.
The story of how Gleam socialized the cats is heartwarming in many ways, including giving a sense of closeness with her dad. Before his passing, she never saw the cats at all for a period of two years. He didn’t think anyone would ever be able to touch the cats. But then something remarkable happened.
“…for the first two years, I never even *saw* them. They started idling in the barn right before he passed,” she shared.
Images and media via TikTok/daveyandpoppysplace
Socializing Feral Cats
We’ll begin by noting that socializing feral cats is sometimes possible, but not always, and it has risks. We’ve previously shared how rescuers have transformed feral cats given about a month, enduring some scratches along the way. It’s expected to see such former feral cats revert, sometimes abruptly, to their aggressive ways along the way. It takes incredible patience, and one could get seriously injured.
Also, some cats will always prefer living feral, and that’s fine too. Through TNR (trap, neuter, release) efforts, they can live their best lives without creating thousands of kittens requiring rescue. Many rescues have barn cat programs to adopt such cats into the perfect environment, and that’s wonderful. That’s how Bebe and Boo came to the farm.
“I was told they are littermates/sisters! They were adopted as a pair from the SPCA after TNR. Though I don’t know if they knew their true origin,” she wrote.
Bebe and Boo the feral barn cats. Bebe is in front of her sister Boo.
Bebe and Boo the Barn Cats
The barn cats, slowly adjusted to indoor life. In this case, it took a whole year, but to see them afterward, they have become loving house cats who appreciate having the red carpet rolled out for them. At first, the woman was worried the cats would feel trapped indoors, “but they understood warm, soft, and safe real fast,” she explained.
The cats eventually discovered that coming indoors was an amazing option and that even sleeping on a soft bed was possible. When Gleam fed them, she started touching them gently on the head here and there.
They weren’t sure what she was doing at first, but they learned to love affection over time. After a year, they freely offered their soft bellies to rub and fully trusted her.
“Meet Bebe and Boo. After a year-long journey, they’ve learned how to love and be loved. Every snuggle with them reminds me of my father.”
“My dad would have loved watching their journey,” she said.
Socializing the Barn Cats Helped Save Bebe’s Life
In a second TikTok, she explained that Bebe and Boo were still challenging to handle sometimes. Initially, she wanted to socialize the barn cats to get them veterinary care. Then, when Bebe’s health declined suddenly, she was able to get her life-saving treatment. A vet discovered the tabby had diabetes, but after treatment, she “bounced back full of love.” But first, she needed 4 days in the ICU due to Diabetic Ketoacidosis from untreated diabetes.
Amazingly, her veterinarian had never seen a cat recover from such a critical condition as she did. As you can see below, she wore a device to monitor her blood sugar levels, which you can learn more about here.
“Bebe gave me her trust in just the nick of time to save her life,” she said.
After returning home, Bebe became super affectionate, wanting to be rubbed constantly. She was 0% feral after that but still loved her sister as much as ever.
For more, you can check out daveyandpoppysplace on Tiktok. Davey and Poppy are a goat and donkey who live on the gorgeous farm.
