'He wasn't at all feral, just terrified': Massive ginger tomcat who was "too smart to be caught" finally decides he could use a break from the harsh cold outside and that it's time to be loved inside

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Aug 27, 2026 11:00 AM EDT

Inside even the scariest tomcat is a softie who's just waiting for someone to break through his tough exterior and love him. 

Stray cats live a completely different life than house cats. For us, as cat owners ourselves, it's hard to imagine the actual reality of a stray cat's life. All we see are our spoiled house cats living the happiest and easiest lives. But we do get a glimpse of the reality. Whenever I go out to feed the cats around my building, I see it. The little adventures that they have are written in the mess of their fur, in the little injuries they get, in their relationships with one another. It's why TNR is so important. It's why helping friendly strays find homes is so important. But it's not just the friendly stray cats who need our help. Inside even the scariest, least friendly cat can be someone who is just too scared. 

Hawkins Cheezies's story is the best proof of that. He is one of those "scary" tomcats. You know, the ones that you know have been outside for a long time. The ones who have a reputation for being combative, unfriendly, and just generally adverse to human interaction. He's the kind of tomcat who you would think has no interest in being adopted… because he's never shown an interest before. And yet, TNR is incredibly important - for all cats, not just the friendly ones who easily get into the crate. A lot of cat people know that, and some of them are actually willing to put in the effort to make it happen. It took months and months to get this extremely smart ginger in for a TNR, but it was so worth it. Out of that appointment came a cat who realized that humans… are not so bad after all. 

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    "I know why all orange cats must share a single brain cell"

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    because this giant tom had ALL the rest of them. It took seven MONTHS to trap this absolute monster tom for TNR. Five times at least, he got the food out and *then* tripped the trap.
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  • Just looking at him, you would know that he has been through some stuff, that he has seen some stuff, and that he is probably completely terrified of humans. Thank you for taking a chance on him. We're not sure that a lot of other people would have. 

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    Twice he got trapped and escaped the trap. He only came around in the middle of the night and I was quite sure he was feral or stray so long there might not be a lot of difference.
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    May 4 he was trapped, finally. He was greasy and crusty so I named him Hawkins Cheezies (a semi- puffed cheese snack from Canada known for a funky sharp cheddar taste and an extra-crunchy crusty bite.)
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    May 14 he was vetted and neutered. Apart from the fact he was teeming with parasites and a little underweight at 14lbs, he was otherwise healthy. I brought him home to recover in a q e room, warm and dry. At that time, the plan was still to TNR.
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    It was clear shortly after he wasn't at all feral, just terrified, so I started working on re-socializing him with a plan to integrate him into our pack if possible, or find a single cat home for him if he couldn't socialize to other cats. It took about 6 weeks before I could touch him for the first time.
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    3 months and a bit after his trap day, he's made friends with the whole house - 3 people and 5 cats. He's very gentle, patient, and cuddly. The past two days he's really relaxed and let down his entire guard draping - himself across laps and sleeping deeply knowing he's safe, and home.
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    His little cauliflower ear and some notches out of both ears are the only proof left he ever lived in the Northern Ontario forest and survived god knows how many fishers, cruel humans, and -35 nights.
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    The cauliflowering was caused by head-shaking and ear-pawing to dislodge 3. massive ticks - it doesn't hurt him anymore and he loves. having it scritched <3
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    Unclassified Presence What an absolute unit he must be if 14lbs is underweight
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    PurplePassiflor1234 OP He had a -35 winter coat on so he looked truly chOnk but the vet could feel some ribs and spine. They said he was condition 4, so just a tiny bit underweight. He's 14.5 pounds now, just about perfect <3 His testosterone must have kicked into overdrive when he hit maturity.
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    Old_Cat_16 You finally succeeded in trapping him on May 4? The force must be strong with this one.
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    PurplePassiflor1234 OP I *had* considered naming him Jabba the Hutt.
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    HMend His face in the first pic! "The things I've seen
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    Senior-Schedule6598 First pic? What about the third? He's become an influence.
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    PurplePassiflor1234 OP They were getting absolutely zooted out of their minds on cat nip in that pic. <3 Our brown- tabby-pattern-printer-ran-out-of-ink boy is the sweetest boy and made instant friends with Big ORNCH once he was let out of quarantine. He's a bit fat, he's due for a growth spurt and he'll slim right out.
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