A furry intruder made noises in the attic and the woman found her
When April Fiet heard a skittering in her attic, she assumed the noises were coming from a small furry rodent or even a raccoon. It was winter, after all, and the attic seemed like a cozy place to hide from the cold.Read More
But the sounds that echoed from above weren’t anything a mouse might make.
“My husband heard meowing in the middle of the night,” Feit told The Dodo. “When I woke up the next morning, he said to me, ‘You’re not going to believe this, but I think there’s a furry cat in our attic.’”
First called animal control, which provided a humane trap and cat food to help lure the animal into the open. Meanwhile, she posted the bizarre happenings on social media, which prompted her to add a security camera.
“An hour later we had security camera footage of this beautiful cat eating the food we had provided,” Feit said.
In the morning, Fiet found the cat, whom she named Atticus, in the trap and rushed him to the vet for a full exam.
“He was a beautiful black cat with large eyes, and he was so small,” Feit said. “[The vet] said we could take him home and hope that with patience and love, Atticus would learn to trust us.”
It all sounded great, except that Fiet’s son — whose favorite animals are cats — is allergic. Not only that, but Atticus didn’t seem to trust anyone yet.
“But Atticus was in a desperate situation,” Feit said. “He had no home to go to. It was winter and cold outside. So we decided to take care of him and see what might happen.”
They placed Atticus in their laundry room, which was large enough for him to roam and feel safe. He quickly discovered a cubbyhole behind the washing machine and made that his favorite hiding place.
“He lived back there for over two months,” Feit said. “So, he only came out when we weren’t in the room, but we got pictures and videos of his movement from the security camera we placed in there. Also, he would hide the moment he heard us come into the room.”
First visited the room three times a day, equipped with treats, to earn the cat’s trust. She even resorted to using a back scratcher to pet him until he warmed to human touch.
“Eventually, he trusted me enough to eat a squeeze treat while I was holding it,” Feit said. “And over two months after we first found him in our attic, he came and sat in my lap!”
Now, the “playful and curious” cat is an estimated year old and enjoys “stealing things from around the house and bringing them to his cubbyhole,” but also getting regular pets from his new family.
“Finding him has added so much more love and joy to our home,” Feit said. “We were delighted to discover that my son is not allergic to Atticus at all. Both of my kids love spending time with Atticus and playing with him. We are making little bits of progress every day.”
