Maria Cassano noticed a few years ago that a cat was passing through the backyard of her father’s house in Long Island, United States, and was carrying a baby kitten. Worried about them, she tried to feed them despite her father not agreeing, and she managed to get him to make an exception.
Maria was worried that, due to not eating well, the cat would not be able to breastfeed her little one; she started calling her “mama” and leaving food for her outside the house . So the cat became a permanent visitor and the family’s new concern was the cold weather.
Maria told The Dodo :
“My dad is very skilled and although he is not a fan of having pets in the house, he is a really empathetic guy and loves to help”
Maria’s neighbor adopted the small kitten, but the mother continued to live on the streets and frequently visited Maria’s father for food, leading the latter to decide to construct a home for the latter.
Maria reports:
“My father purchased the ingredients for a heated cat home, coated it with waterproof materials, built a base, and erected it in the backyard when his girlfriend and I started worrying about the cats that survived the cold winter.”
Soon after, mom had another baby and worried Maria’s father decided to install an IR camera in order to make sure they both went back to sleep safely; he did not imagine that with this idea he would get beautiful and adorable images.
Maria finally managed to reach out and take mom and her kitten to a local shelter to have them spayed and vaccinated.
Maria added:
“It was fall, and the shelter said mom would be fine to come back, but the kitten was probably too young to survive the winter if left outside.”
As a result, the woman looked after the kitten to keep it warm over the winter and was successful in finding it a permanent home. Mom now enjoys spending time in the backyard with two additional kitty buddies – Inky and Finky.
Maria declared:
Although they won’t enter the house or allow us to touch them, they do know us, snooze on the stools or on the lawn chairs, socialize with us in the backyard, and occasionally come to the window when it’s time to eat.
Over time they have added some more spaces for cats.
Maria said:
“Over the years we’ve gotten a few more houses and a ‘cat igloo,’ so all of our residents can keep warm, I jokingly refer to them as ‘Steve’s Cat Condos.’”
Thanks to Maria and her father, the stray cats have a warm place to spend the cold nights.
