converted ferals make Great pets

I got an email today from Angela, who had fostered our "hard to place" feral cat Ruffian for a while before finding him a purr-manent home with her in-laws. I asked her permission to share it, as a testimonial that feral cats, even those who are hard to tame, make wonderful pets.

Everyone who met Ruffian recognized that he was a fabulous cat, but he was a difficult cat to adopt out. Ruffian had a history of fighting with other pets, escaping and running away for 6 months, and multiple other issues than deterred most adopters from considering taking him home. Ruffian was with us for months at a time, then in winters he would be shuffled off to a new foster home. He was even adopted a few times, but it turned out to be a bad match in each case, so he came back to our rescue time and again. When he was transferred to yet another foster home (with Angela), he won their hearts! They introduced him to Wilma and Ed, who decided to take him home. They understood that he would be shy and hide at first, and it took him a while to come out and show his true colours. Now I think Ruffian finally understands that he is home.

Here is Angela's email:

2 weeks ago Ruffian got outside by accident! Wilma was going out the patio doors and he bolted past her. We all knew it would happen eventually, Wilma obviously needs more time and room to get out than most people. (*she uses a wheelchair) Anyway, she was sick over it all. Ed got home and called for him, walked around, and went to the neighbours' houses to let them know their cat was out.

Later on in the late afternoon Ed went out on the patio and called him and he came right up to him, he must have been just around the house/under the patio! He came right inside and right to his food dish. Guess he didn't want to miss supper time.

Since then he has gotten out twice more (he has a taste for it now) but he stays mostly just on the patio and sometimes wanders down to the pavement in front of the garage and lays on it in the sun. He comes back into the house without any problems, so everyone is pretty happy about that! :)
They figured he has it too good there, so he wasn't going too far, just went for a little exploring adventure. haha :) Seems to have that out of his system now!

He is Wilma's little snuggler. He hops up on her and lays in her lap. They really couldn't be happier with him. When we come over he comes right up to us and jumps up on the couch or wherever we are looking for some pats.
He really has done a total 180. He's just a happy lovey cat now. No one would ever guess he used to live outside and be scared of people. Ruffian is a true example of how feral cats can become loving pet cats.

Angela