Feral community feline who fell through roof into abandoned home’s garage freed after days crying for help thanks to a rescuer who wouldn’t give up, rescuer says: ‘I’m so glad Boots has a LOUD meow and my husband was paying enough attention to hear him.'

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Jun 13, 2026 7:00 PM EDT

Community cats are a common thing in many parts of the world. Often fed and cared for by various local cat lovers. But the way in which this poor feline found itself becoming the local community cat is far sadder than it should have been and is likely how he found himself in such a stuck predicament.

While Reddit's r/Feral_Cats subreddit is usually full of stories and questions regarding feral felines who are too scared to approach the hoomans who feed them. This story comes from a completely different angle. To begin with, the cat in question actually used to be a house cat. But after being abandoned twice by two different families this cat's faith in hoomanity had disappeared and so it resigned itself to a life on the streets.

He was lucky and had some hoomans in the area who fed him, but his need for love and affection would never be fully fulfilled after having had his heart broken like that. But when he found himself stuck in an abandoned home, that is when this lonely catto came to realize that there are more than a few hoomans out there who care about him and that they might yet be a future full of love and light in his life.

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  • 01
    "HE'S OUT AND SAFE!!!!"
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  • 02
    This is Boots. He had humans and they moved and left him. New humans on the same street adopted him. And then did the same thing. Now my neighbor takes care of him but he
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  • 03
    doesn't want to be an inside boy. He sprays and just doesn't want to stay inside. My husband was taking the garbage out tonight
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  • Honestly, we totally get this feral feline. It is bad enough to be abandoned by one family, but after two families abandoning you, of course you would have become accustomed to the street life and ever prefer it over the home life due to your past experiences. How are you meant to trust a home and at that a hooman when all you’ve ever known is that hoomans are fickle and uncaring and homes come and go? Even a hooman would think twice about joining a third family and leaving everything to live the hobo life. At least this feline had a neighbor they could count on for some food. It is not a massive comfort but a sufficient one nonetheless.
     

  • 04
    and heard him yelling from inside the garage next door. He somehow got into the house next to me that is semi-abandoned (no one has lived there
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  • 05
    for years but they still have people come cut the grass). Probably through a hole in the roof or something. We can't get to him at all.
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  • 06
    Every door and window is sealed tight. I called animal control but they said "it's clock out time, bye!" And the sheriffs say they can't do anything
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  • 07
    animal related. Now I have to wait and hope they call when they get there at 7 and that they can actually do something. I'm gonna call at 7 too. I
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  • 08
    don't know if they have the ability to break into a house because there is a neighborhood cat locked in there. I'm so stressed out. He's yelling so loud.
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  • 09
    When we looked in the side door for the garage, he popped his little face up so it's definitely him (not that we would have given up trying
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  • 10
    to get the cat out if it wasn't him). He's the sweetest boy. He loves belly rubs and flops over as soon as he knows pets are coming. I call him my little security
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  • 11
    guard because he's always around to guide me to/from my car and then I give him his "security payment" (some treats). I really hope he finds a way
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  • Oh goodness he sounds like such a good boy. All he wants is love and affection and all he has been dealt in this life is coldness and rejection. To think that the reason he jumped into the abandoned home in the first place might come from him wanting a home with no hoomans after being burned so many times. It is truly heartbreaking. But at least he knew to meow loud enough that hoomans might hear him and still had some belief in his heart that there would be hoomans who care enough about him to help him on the outside of the garage that had trapped him.
     

  • 12
    out tonight or animal control can help. I don't want to commit a f y to get him out but I'm not gonna let the idiot d e inside an abandoned house. D n cats!
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  • 13
    I also googled the owner of the house and called and texted the number Google said but who knows how accurate that is. When I google myself, it pulls up a number I haven't had in like 10+ years.
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  • 14
    Cheezburger Image 10637568256
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  • 15
    HE'S OUT AND SAFE!!!! Neighbor that takes care of him said he was hungry and thirsty but otherwise, looks good.
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  • 16
    Animal control came out this morning and got ahold of the owner (who actually lives like 15 min away). They came over but her key didn't work. After calling the locksmith, Mr Boots is now a free man!
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  • 17
    There is a hole in the roof that the owner is going to try to get help to cover so this doesn't happen again. And if it does, (it doesn't) the neighbor that takes care of him got the owners contact info.
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  • 18
    Unfortunately at least 1 other animal (idk what kind) didn't have such a good outcome and bones were found inside with scratch marks on the wall. That makes me so
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  • 19
    sad for whatever little friend that was. I'm so glad Boots has a LOUD meow and my husband was paying enough attention to hear him.
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  • 20
    This community is amazing. It makes Ime feel like I'm less alone as a cry cat lady. Too many people wouldn't care because it's not their animal. All
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  • 21
    (most lol) of you people on this subreddit are so wonderful! And to the comments saying take him to the shelter so he can
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  • 22
    "have a better life in a house"- you don't know what you're talking about. As the automod will post right after I post this, some cats are not made to be indoor house cats. Mr Boots is not. He has that
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  • 23
    option. My neighbor would love to keep him inside. Besides the fact that he sprays (which she deals with so calmly and amazingly), he is very unsettled when he is inside. She said he paces from room to room and howls
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  • 24
    and yells and never settles down. When he's outside, he's a chill boy. He lays on people's patios and naps and watches birds and patrols the neighborhood, he watches for cars before he crosses the street, everyone on my street knows
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    him and loves him. I would love if he could be a strictly inside cat, and maybe that will happen when he gets older (he's like 3-4ish), but for now, Mr Boots needs to be free to be the amazing neighborhood
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    security guard we all rely on to keep our street safe.
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roof garage abandoned give up reddit story community help cat story feline feral home free crying fell rescue
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