A woman who spent the last five years caring for a colony of feral cats was moved to tears when one finally let her touch him on his final day.
When Valerie Wells first moved to Phoenix in 2020, she discovered her apartment complex full of feral cats living outside, which she has worked on performing a trap-neuter-return. She began secretly setting out food and water for the felines since the apartment prohibited it. But every night, like clockwork, the cats came by for mealtime.
All 12 of the cats have shown her a wide variety of trust. Some would sit and wait by her for food time while others trusted her over time, she told Newsweek via email, but Griz was always an “extra skittish” feral.
“For the majority of my five years with Griz, I wasn’t able to get within 15 feet of him, or else he’d run away,” Wells said. “If I made too much eye contact or hand gestures, he would take off and hide.”
Despite his trepidation of her, he always knew she provided meals. She said he was “punctual” for breakfast and dinner. Over the years, he started to show himself more, staring at her while she walked her dog.
A few months ago, Wells noticed an “out-of-the-ordinary behavior” from Griz. He began following her on her walks and gave her slow blinks, which is a sign a cat feels comfortable and trusts you. Then, when Griz allowed her to come within five feet and he stopped eating altogether, she knew something was wrong.
“At the vet, we discovered that Griz had a gnarly abscess in his neck that was already full of maggots,” she said. “At this point, he hadn’t eaten or drank in three days, and his body was incredibly shut down and weak.”
@phoenixferals/TikTok
It all hit Wells: the feral cat was “ready to let go.” The nearly 12-year-old cat likely had been sick for a long time, Wells said. He willingly let Wells and the veterinarian touch him during the examination. It’s as if he knew they were trying to help, but he accepted that it was his time to cross the rainbow bridge.
Griz meowed his thanks for all they’ve done, especially Wells. She said it was the first time she ever heard him meow.
“As he lay on the exam table, I told him how much I loved him and gently stroked his head—something I had only ever dreamed of!” she said. “…It was an honor to be Griz’s trusted feral cat caretaker for five years. I’m so thankful for our time together, and I’m grateful that I could help him at the end.”
Viewer Reactions
The TikTok video, which reached over 37,700 views and 5,613 likes as of Monday, left viewers in tears.
“His meows were so precious at the end! I’m sure he was so grateful for the years you would feed him,” wrote one user.
Another added: “This hurts my heart, but thank you for letting him pass with dignity.”
A third person commented: “I’m so sorry. Loving and caring for ferals is so rewarding, but so hard. Thank you for everything you did for him.”
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