Alfie was very sick when he was rescued. It was late January & a colder- & snowier-than-usual winter. He was about 4-5 months old & very feral. The poor guy could barely get one clear breath without sputtering, sniffling & hacking. His eyes & nose were a mess of fluids.

Even though he was very weak & sick, Alfie would put up a mighty fuss & frantically tear around his crate when I'd approach it. He was even less receptive to being socialized. I'd lift out his carrier, set it on the crate & slowly put my heavily protected leather-welding-gloved hand near him. Poor Alfie'd glare, hiss, spit, growl, scratch & lash out at the glove. But I was persistent.

After a while I began slowly touching him with the glove, which he hated, & gently petting his back, which he loathed. Later I began to press a little more firmly with the glove when petting him & put the glove under his belly & chest a little to get him used to being handled. This he detested.

A few days later I began pulling Alfie out of the carrier to sit on my lap. He didn't like this exercise either. He braced his legs inside the carrier so I anchored it down with bungee cords & removed the door to get him out. Once in my lap, wrapped snuggly in a thick towel for both of our safety, he quickly relaxed & looked around. Soon he was even purring! But he had a long way to go to feel truly at ease & comfortable.

After a while I let him explore the training room (even though getting him back in his crate was tricky). Niko would come in & show Alfie how to play with a string & they'd wrassle & get rowdy.

Eventually Alfie became healthy & relaxed. Turns out he is the sweetest of sweetie pies. He'll jump up on a cat tree & if I lean close he'll rub his cheek on my nose, both sides. He even lets me hold him for a quick cuddle when he's in the mood. He's very playful & has a high-pitched squeak for a meow. Oh, and a voracious appetite. The big extra thumbs on his polydactyl paws enable him to scoop up cat food & literally eat with his hands. Alfie's a wonderful Former Feral Success Story!

• Alfie before he was rescued
• The colony Alfie was rescued from