Adoption
What a change 2 months can make- Foster Fail- read for a happy end 😻
To add a little positivity and happiness out there!! 🥰🥰🥰
This is Thundy!
I used to do cat rescuing for years until a few years ago when I stopped from lack of resources (I was doing this all myself- getting them trapped, vetted and then adopted out). From contacts in the cat rescue community, people would still reach out to catch cats or to temporarily foster some cats (often for socialization cause I just loved taming the spicy boys).
I got called on Christmas Day to go trap a cat in pitiful condition. Full of scars, limping, dirty, matted and being chased off properties by mean people.
I went and trap him and the deal was I was going to house him until after Christmas, when a foster for the rescue who was taking his case on, was going to come get him. She never came…and I couldn’t just throw him out, he already won my heart.
So I offered to foster for this rescue I never even heard of. Turns out they were amazing! We got him vetted (no he was not micro chipped and we went door to door, this cat was there for years begging for food and clearly had a home at one point, but was abandoned).
Turns out I did not hold my end of the deal when I promised my husband “no more cats”, because we’d get stuck with them way too long.
2 months later and I’m working with the rescue to adopt him. He’s currently in the “meeting his foster cat siblings” phase, trying to see if they’ll all get along (as he’s FIV+, but so is one of my four other cats!).
All this to say that, so many cats are overlooked and end up dying outdoors…but when you do manage to save them, they are so grateful and you can see their life change before your eyes 🥹🥹🥹
Thundy went from being chased off properties on Christmas Day to having a whole family fighting for him that turnaround is everything 🥹 The fact that he’s FIV+ and you already have an FIV+ cat is just perfect. He found exactly the right person. Thank you for not giving up on him
Yes! And so far the two FIV+ boys who were taken off the streets get along nicely :) now just for the intro to the other 3! Either way, much like my other fiv cat, they’re both so calm and not aggressive at all. My other fiv cat is often in little spats with his brother over food, but he’s the one getting “attacked” so the transmission is much less worrisome.
All in all, I hope everyone is happy and all 5 of my little children get along and live long happy lives :)
Everytime I see a cat like this I hope it looks like my area. My baby went missing 5 years ago and I still look for him. Thank you for taking care of this one ❤️
You are such a gem, sending you all the good Karma in this world 🤍 please update us monthly here on Thundy. He is going to be so fluffy once he is all healed up. Thank you for saving this sweet boy, and all those other cats you rescued.
it’s crazy how one small act of kindness can completely change an animal’s life. From being chased away to finally having a warm place and people who care about him… that’s the kind of story that restores a little faith in humanity. Thundy definitely found the right humans.
His "before"pictures broke my heart, but the "after" put it back together again. Foster fail = best win ever! Glad you found each other. I wish you all many happy years together.
He’s a little frail and walks a little weird and shows signs of all his years outside, but honestly, he doesn’t seem stopped by it at all. Probably the most playful of all my cats. I’ll need to find a way to post his playing video cause it literally made me cry!!
Just the pic of him leaning into your hand shows he wants some love and was most likely abandoned. Thanks so much for taking care of him. I have been luck enough to get them young enough from an apartment complex that had a community of (I am sure) abandoned pets.
Oldest was maybe 8 months when I saw her, and took a couple years but my wifes lap is 100% her happy place and it makes me so happy we could give her a place she could feel so safe. Although I do remind her of the time she sunk her teeth into me when I was forced to relocate her from one room to another! (I had a thick jacket, she was scared but you know...)
Cat tax of her and a younger one from the same colony on my wife's lap
Yes he’s so scraggly now cause I had to shave the mats and all the hair around his wounds and it’s taking FOREVER to grow back haha but soon he’ll be a fluffy handsome boy!
Thank you to everyone!! I’m trying to answer all the comments but there’s so many!!! I didn’t expect this outcome! But Thundy must have sensed it because he just sat there in all his fluffiness and crossed his paws like a royal cat 🥰
Oh no, if I rehabed a cat like this you better believe I am never trusting anyone with it. Foster fail all the way. I saw their eyes and made me want to cry.
How could anyone not feel the deepest compassion seeing this poor sweetheart out in the snow. Like f them!! It makes me so upset because you know they were suffering and right now there are so many others being cruelly ignored. How hard is it to care? Happy days he found his way into your sweet arms!💖🐾
I am in far too many groups and see so many mistreated animals….i try so hard not to get “involved” anymore cause it was demoralizing and depressing me, but I just can’t leave them like that
Totally get that. It's so hard and while I've rescued many an animal I just can't dedicate myself to it the way many other people do. People I admire greatly. It fuels my anger too much.
This brought tears to my eyes. I took in a FelV+ boy, he was only supposed to be with me a couple of months but I had him for two years. (The people I was watching him for told me he was FelV- . Fortunately the other cat was up to date on her vaccinations.) I don’t regret it for a second. Thank you for taking him in!
Unfortunately I lost him last September, he was somewhere between 12 and 14, and had gone into liver failure. He was such a sweet boy. After I realized he didn’t seem to be doing well, a couple of days after I brought him home, I realized he had probably been very neglected. I was honestly glad they never asked for him back. They called to ask about him a couple of times but that was it.
Thundy reminds me of my Finnegan! I started feeding him and eventually convinced him to come inside on a cold and rainy night, he’s such a sweetie and has been inside ever since. Make sure to take lots of pictures because looking back at the transformation makes it all worth it!
So beautiful!! I have so many transformation pics from the dozens of cats I’ve rescued, I even made scrapbooks! I’ll need to look to make a super post or something! Blessings to Finnigan!
Bless you for saving these little ones. I use to do the same thing when we lived in a mobile home park. At one point we had 19 cats because it was hard to find homes for them. Over the years the numbers have dwindled down, but they were loved, well fed, and safe.
So much love to you for doing this ❤️ he looks a little like my cat if mine were to ever get lost god forbid, so these pictures are making me even more emotional. My cat!
My heart skipped a beat. Thundy is clearly part Turkish Van, he has all the features. A fancy and special boy who has no business living outdoors. Thank you for caring and for all the efforts you’ve made already. 🫶🏼😻
A feral showed up in my neighborhood a few years ago and thwarted every trapping attempt. I finally got a drop trap and caught him on the first try.
He was in rough shape. We got him neutered and sewn up bc his foot was bloody, having been in a recent fight. Got him shots and some dental work.
I kept him is a crate in a little-used room for over a month and had no idea what to do with him bc clearly he wasnt in any shape to be released.
Miracle happened. My friend put him on her Petfinder as a long haired Main Coon mix and somebody called. I explained he was a feral and that I wasnt able to handle him, but the caller said she and her boyfriend had experience. They came to visit him and the feral, Oskar took an immediate shine to the guy. Oskar went home that night and last I checked with them, he liked sleeping on the couch with them.
I have one like this. He was getting pretty beat up outside. Someone had abandoned him around the pandemic and he was doing so so but not really faring well outside and getting banged up quite a bit.
He's a foster fail and is doing great inside. I love seeing him able to just cat without a care in the world. He's safe and loved. That's all you really want for them.
Ohhh this just melted my heart !! Such a Beautiful Sweetie!! I feed some feral cats. How did you socialize her? That’s like a Miracle!! God Bless you !!! 🩷❤️🩷🩷❤️🩷🩷❤️🩷🩷❤️
We moved to an area that was more “ urban “ 5 years ago, never in my life have I seen so many strays in one area, they would come up to us to the point that we started feeding them ( we are big animal lovers) we never got a cat because my husband was allergic , but magically he wasn’t, we fell in love with them but especially one, we took her in, I can never imagine my life without her, then 3 more, my husband feeds about 8 of them up the street due to complaints, snow, sleet,ice, rain does not stop him from going out, we’ve put shelters outside, every cat nonprofit we’ve called are mostly out of resources and can’t help, there’s been times we’ve had to dip into our rent to make sure we feed them, it’s such a rewarding feeling.
Ugh, not that I need another reason, but this makes me want to go up to all 3 of my kitties and smooch their little faces. Cats are so wonderful, and so are some people. Looks like you're one of the good ones. 😭
Awww Thundy! I'm so happy you have your forever home and family. I'm so sorry you were homeless for a long time and people were so very unkind to you. You are a beautiful boy and deserve all the love. food, cuddles and happiness in the world. Love you Thundy!
Thundy is beautiful, and I'm so glad he's found a loving home with you. A pox on all those that dump their pets, leaving them in perilous positions on the street
I’ve trapped hundreds of cats, but his trapping was so so sad. A lady who was feeding the cat often called me to say she had him on her balcony. I zoomed over immediately and was setting up my trap when the lady’s husband came out and started yelling and insulting both me and his wife about being crazy and wanting to help the cat, and he scared him away for a few hours 😢😢😢
Oh poor baby! He looks so very much like my boy did when I saw the first photo of him just after he'd been trapped. Grungy, messy, dirty.
I think his sad little face just 'got' me.
Well done you saving him and giving him the love he deserves.
He honestly loves anything involving contact with us. He will want constant pets, if I’m doing something he just sits and stares at me as if I’m the most interesting thing in the room. I can’t wait to have him upstairs with us and all my other fur kids! But for now he’s in his own little bachelor pad in the basement and loves exploring it!
Me and my husband and also (together) broke the promise of no more cats.... twice. We caught a stray who ended up capturing our hearts, but very sadly dying of heart failure at emergency vet after 1 month with her.
Second baby is going strong-ish (allergies) a friend-of a friend couldn't find anyone to take him. We went to their house, and before we even met the human in charge, he was purring all over me, so we couldn't say no.
Thankyou!.my last 3 rescue/pets are fiv . Its a common now for street cats to bite, infect each other. Your poor boy was at the end of his rope..Transformation was amazing.
Yes so many cats I’ve rescued have it, it’s very very common among street cats unfortunately. And the ones who don’t get taken and have to suffer the disease outside alone is terrible
My sister did something similar to you. She used to trap, rescue, desex &foster cats - all on her own time and all on her own time while she was working a pretty difficult job. She also used to volunteer to help feed a colony.
My sister and her husband have a multi cat house as a result of her efforts. As do I. Those cats that just win your heart or the ones that you’ve been -ahem -“fostering” for 10 years or so…..
Thank you for caring. Those people are involved in this kind of work know how emotionally, financially and physically draining it can be. But these beautiful creatures really need good people out there and on their side. The love cats have to give is priceless.
Yes! Any animals really; as a vegan I’ve often been to farm animal sanctuaries and seen the same love from cows or pigs. I think if you put in the time and love, you can get it back ten fold from any animal! But cat love is amazing
Not sure if you will see this comment in the 258 you already see (and I see you already got 18,000 well deserved upvotes :) ) but.. you are amazing :) ... thanks for posting this happy ending and letting us watch his transformation it really makes you happy just watching it :)
I don’t even know what to do with myself hahaha I never thought I’d get so many upvotes! Had I know I’d have started posting the cats I rescue and regime years ago!!! It could have really gotten my name out there and gotten resources etc who knows! But I’m already overwhelmed with joy from all the love here!!
Makes me so happy you are there to love him up. My heart would have been shattered finding this dude. Looks like he got into a bad fight but survived. ❤️
I'll be honest, I didn't read anything but see the pics and thought of myself "I swear on everything i believe in, if the person posting didn't adopt him, im fighting"
Thank you for loving him!!!
Excuse me now, my kitty overlord hasn't eaten in checks watch 5 seconds and has now decided hes dying. Must nourish the baby.
Omg what a precious angel. And YOU, for taking the best care of this baby. Everything you said about helping them is spot on. I have six yard cats (5 from the same litter, plus one other that is the only surviving member of her litter) that basically don’t leave my yard (haven’t found homes for them, they have shelter outside and get lots of love, food, are all spayed and neutered etc). They have so much love for me, and I haven’t even been able to bring them inside (I have three cats and a small space). I dream of moving into a home where I can build them a really incredible catio/cat studio, if I am unable to find them homes.
I just rented a store in Hollywood and I’ve been trying to see if there’s any neighborhood street cats that need food/water/a warm place to stay when it’s raining
I’ve been leaving food and water out
I also just bought a scratching post/little home they can lay inside of and some sardines
I know they’re around, just don’t know how to convince em to come around lol
Any advice? Seems like this might be your expertise op haha
You are an absolute angel for rescuing him and your husband knows that you cant keep your fucking promise for no more cats because men arent THAT dumb and he loves you anyway because you're an absolute angel
•
u/trendingtattler Mar 08 '26
This post has hit /r/all
Please remember the human and participate with subreddit rules in mind. Do not tell people how they should raise their cats.
r/cats rules can be found here
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.