An injured stray cat wandered into a family’s property at feeding time, but was too shy to ask for food. So, he kept showing up again and again, until he finally worked up the courage to befriend them.
In a viral TikTok video shared in September by @murdock_grayson, the tabby tuxedo, now named Levi, can be seen randomly appearing onto the stairs’ landing of the family apartment in Tumon, Guam, watching as they feed their cat, Artemis.
“A new kitty wandered onto our floor at our 2 a.m. feeding time. He immediately ran off but he showed up again the next day. Wanted to attempt to befriend him, he must have bee really hungry,” reads layover text in the clip.
On this occasion, the family fed Artemis separately to avoid fights over food, all while Levi waited patiently from a distance. Then they set the stray up with food, giving him a choice of wet or food in case he liked either.
“He was definitely hungry, a wet food boy for sure. We could see that he has a wound on his shoulder. He came back a couple of days later! Made sure he was well fed with a full tummy,” the text continues.
“He has been coming by more often and getting closer to trusting. Still can’t get close enough to pet him, but we are making progress. Hoping to catch him soon and get him neutered and treated.” Newsweek reached out to @murdock_grayson for comment via TikTok comments. We could not verify the details of the case.
Every year, over 6.3 million pets enter shelters nationwide in America, and of these, about 920,000 end up being euthanized, often for lack of space in the facilities. That is why it’s important if you find a stray cat, to contact a veterinarian and get them spayed/neutered.
U.K. charity Cats Protection says that the first thing to do when you find a homeless cat in the street, is understanding whether they are stray or feral. The latter are not domesticated and you risk getting injured handling them if you are not an expert.
How can you tell if the cat is stray or a feral? The first clue is in their appearance, if they are a little skinny or underweight there’s a chance it may be a stray. Stray cats also tend to wander alone, while feral felines stick to colonies, and they only rarely approach humans.
Their behavior is another tell-tale sign. Stray cats usually look confused, like they’ve just arrived to a new place; feral cats, on the other hand, are usually very familiar with their territory. Moreover, strays like to hang around near homes, closer to people.
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Once you have established it’s a stray, can you actually keep it if you want to? British animal charity Blue Cross says that, when you take the cat to the veterinarian, they will be able to tell if it is micro-chipped, and if it doesn’t have an owner and you feel like you can give it a good life, you can certainly keep it.
Unfortunately, the poster and his family couldn’t keep little Levi. In an update shared earlier in October, the poster said they took the cat to the veterinarian and got him treated and neutered, before releasing him back outdoors after failing to find someone to foster him.
“We would’ve loved to have made him an indoor cat, unfortunately our home already has 9 indoor cats in a small condo and all other rescuers and foster homes are full. This overpopulation is uncontrollable and prevents good cats like Levi from being adopted over young kittens,” the poster wrote.
The video quickly went viral on social media and has so far received over 1.1 million views and more than 179,000 likes on the platform.
One user, Loveswinter123holly, commented: “Aww, he looks so sweet. I like the name Levi for him. Praying you catch this sweet fellow very soon.”
Meg posted: “Thank you for taking care of the little voices that can’t be heard.”
Fluffy added: “Sometimes I wonder do these cats tell other cats where to find food or something like ‘this person is so kind.”
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.