A Strong Future for Muscles

Dec 07, 2020

Since 2014, nine-year-old Muscles has been part of a cat colony. He’s lived outside with his feral friends while a cat colony caretaker has made sure they had shelter, food, and all the trap, neuter, return (TNR) care they could need. When his caretaker saw Muscles struggling to eat, we brought this friendly boy to PAWS for medical care. Turns out, he’d also get to start his new journey as an indoor cat!

Everyone, meet Muscles! It’s a fitting name for the life he’s had—he might not be the biggest cat, but six years in a cat colony on Chicago’s streets are proof that this nine-year-old can take on just about anything.

Since 2014, Muscles has had a colony caretaker and longtime PAWS volunteer, Alicia, looking out for him and his feline friends. She’s made sure he and his colony stayed healthy and provided things like food or shelter to make sure the colony is safe.

Outdoor cats help Chicago’s neighborhoods in a variety of ways, including maintaining a low rodent population. In order for community cats to maintain their established colonies, they need the support of the neighborhood to Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) them, continue feeding them, and monitor their well-being. Through TNR we are able to maintain colonies in a humane way. Population control is critical to making Chicago a No Kill community. PAWS Chicago’s Community Cats program works on the ground in under-served areas of Chicago to perform TNR where there are no other resources available. 

When Muscle’s colony caretaker noticed that Muscles was struggling to eat, she took a closer look and found that his mouth was in need of some extensive dental work. So, Muscles came to PAWS!

Now that he’s at PAWS Chicago, he’s in a foster home awaiting surgery and extractions at the PAWS Medical Center that will help him live a pain-free life. His foster says “he's definitely come out of his shell quite a bit. He's been exploring the condo, follows me around, demands lots and lots of pets, and even cuddles on the couch! I'm so impressed with his little personality.”

Although many community cats that are unsocialized prefer living outside as loved members of their communities, our staff and volunteers are always on the lookout for cats that may thrive living as a loved pet. And, with his sweet personality, Muscles will soon be living the good life as an adopted cat!

As a senior cat who spent six years in a cat colony, Muscles has a lot of “new” ahead of him but with a name like Muscles, this sweet boy can take on anything.

Welcome to PAWS Chicago, Muscles!