Once upon a time there were 2 little wild kitty boys we would see in our neighborhood occasionally.
We didn't know if they had homes, so Parke would leave food out for them. (I love my husband!)
Sometimes we would try to pet them, but no way.
Then in January of 2010, the weather report said a big storm was coming with a week of below zero temperatures.
We realized the time had come to trap these cats and get them indoors . . .

Anyone who has tried to trap feral cats will understand our JOY when we were able to trap them both
on the morning of the storm. We took them straight to the vet to be fixed and vaccinated.
That's when we learned they were both already fixed, and females!

Wild and Pissed, after unnecessary surgery.
In fact, they were so annoyed they posted an angry message on Facebook!

Our plan was to release them when the weather got better, but of course that never happened!
We didn't realize how old and frail the little one was - we knew she would not have survived the storm.

After a couple of days, we decided they needed a view.

We have learned that the best way to tame feral cats is to give them a safe place
where they can observe the household, and watch us loving the other cats.

In a couple of weeks I could pet and hold Little Bean !
The long-haired lady was covered with dozens of horrible giant mats, so we named her Matty.
And every night she would let us carefully remove some of the giant mats with a seam ripper.

One day Bean went downhill FAST. We rushed her to the vet. She was so tiny and sick.
On February 1st, 2010, with the help of Dr. Colmey, we let her go. She died purring and warm, in my arms.
It's amazing how quickly we fell in love with her. She was only in our home for 3 weeks, and we were devestated.

Soon after the loss of Bean, Matty started exploring the house . . .

May 18, 2010.      Matty is a regular member of the family now.
She eats breakfast with the other cats, sleeps on my pillow, and absolutely REFUSES to go outside.
The horrible mats are all gone, but she still has some bald patches.
Now she deserves are more beautiful name, like Madeline!