Rescued Feral Cat Becomes The Best Cuddle Companion This Family Could Ever Have Asked For

by Elana

10 Jul 2021

There's a distinct difference between feral cats and stray cats. Feral cats have either never had contact with humans or have had it diminished a long time ago.

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Due to their limited, if any, contact with humans, feral cats often spend their entire lives not living with people. In some communities, humans help care for feral cat colonies by trapping, spaying or neutering, and releasing cats back to their feral colonies. However, sometimes a feral cat becomes a house cat.

In a remote region of the Baviaanskloof in South Africa, an emaciated and bleeding kitten was found and rescued by the Mercers to be rehabilitated and cared for.

Her name is McCavity, but the couple affectionately calls her "Weasel."

She was small when they found her, and she never really grew to be particularly large.

Speaking of the cat, David Mercer said:

"She also stayed quite wild, preferring to explore the wide-open expanses of the Karoo Wildlife Center where she lived instead of becoming a house cat."

When David and his wife were asked to adopt her into their suburban Cape Town apartment, they had some concerns.

"We worried she might not adapt to being a 'city cat' and that she might not want to live surrounded by humans in such close quarters."

"She had, after all, never laid eyes on a highway, seen a skyscraper, or even encountered another cat (not counting karakal and leopard)."

"At first, she hid away, venturing out only when necessary. My wife started taking pictures of her on the odd occasion she relaxed out in the open for a bit."

"Every now and then, she’d play with a patch of cloth—her patch, I mean. Don’t mess with her patch."

And then, as you can see, things changed for their beloved Weasel. She began taking naps in laps and cuddling with her family, and before long, she was waking up in their bed.

Before long, she was quite the demanding snuggle bug. David said:

"And she will cry until I make space for her between my legs on the bed."

Don't worry, Weasel "catches up on any missed sleep during the daytime by covering her eyes."

And now, she totally lives the best cat life possible, even "making biscuits" in the home, especially on her daddy's blanket.

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