Stray Cat's Precious Moments Captured On Night Vision Camera By The Man Feeding Her
A couple of years ago, Maria Cassano noticed that a stray cat with a kitten was passing from time to time through her dad's backyard in Long Island. She immediately liked the cat and called her Mama but also started worrying that a stray cat with a bad diet and scarce meals won't be able to produce enough milk for her baby.
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Even though her father did not want to feed stray cats, Maria managed to convince him that it was worth the effort. And soon, one of their neighbors adopted the kitten, but Mama was still on the streets, so Cassanos continued to provide food for her and other stray cats. Mama became a regular guest, and soon the family started to wonder how she will survive the cold weather.
"My dad's pretty handy, and although he's not a fan of having pets in the house,' he's a really empathetic guy, and he loves to help out," Cassano says. "So when his girlfriend and I started to worry about the cats surviving the cold weather, my dad ordered the elements for a heated cat house, covered it with waterproof materials, built a base for it, and put it out in the backyard."
After some time, Mama had a second kitten, and Cassano’s father installed a camera in the cat because he wanted to make sure they arrived home safe and sound every night.
Maria eventually took Mama and her kitten to a local shelter to be sterilized and vaccinated. “It was fall, and the shelter said that Mama would be fine to return, but the kitten was likely too young to survive the winter if left outdoors,” Cassano says. “However, he took well to being handled by humans.”
Maria fostered the little kitty and eventually found a loving home for her. But Mama wasn’t lonely for long, she now has two friends, black cats named Inky and Finky.
Maria doesn’t believe she will be able to domesticate this cat company, but she's happy to give them a secure and comfortable place to stay.
“They won't come inside or let us touch them — but they recognize us, nap on the stoop [or] in the lawn chairs, coexist with us in the backyard, and sometimes come up to the window when it's time to eat.”
"Over the years, we've gotten a few more houses and a ‘cat igloo,’ so all of our residents can stay warm," Maria said. "I jokingly refer to them as ‘Steve's Cat Condos.’”