Internet users are obsessed with how a formerly feral cat shows his adoration for his owner—but only on his own terms.
Yazmin, 39 and from Southern California, rescued her adored feline Pooh Bear in October 2024 after someone reached out for help with community cats in the area. These are stray or feral felines that live outside without an owner, though they may be fed by locals and checked in on by veterinarians. Colonies can grow large, particularly if the cats have litters of kittens, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Yazmin, who works with rescue Tips & Whiskers to trap, neuter and return community cats to prevent further litters, told Newsweek the team “trapped and fixed the entire colony—about 20 cats”—but there was something special about Pooh Bear.
The woman who had been looking out for the colony explained to Yazmin that she had been feeding Pooh Bear for 10 years, and “she was hoping I’d rescue him and let him live indoors since he wasn’t as agile and fast as before. She was afraid he’d get hurt.”
And so, wanting to help an animal in need, Yazmin agreed to give it a shot.
Now, the duo have gone viral, as Yazmin showed what life with her former feral cat is like, more than a year after taking him in from the street.
In a video to her TikTok account @tnr_vettech on February 20, viewed over 16.5 million times, Yazmin wrote: “Rescued him off the streets over a year ago. Still can’t touch him.”
Recording the enormous fluffy black cat who is sitting watching his owner carefully, Yazmin told viewers: “He stalks me all day, but, when I try to approach him, he runs.”
Yazmin then showed this in action, by crouching down beside the formerly feral feline and gently reaching out a hand. And Pooh Bear looks at it with an expression close to disgust, before inching away from her hand and finally turning his back on her to walk away.
As soon as Yazmin stops trying to touch him, however, Pooh Bear walks right back up to her and starts staring at her again.
TikTok users fell in love, awarding the video more than 2.3 million likes, as one user posted: “He likes the general idea of you.”
“His love language is quality time,” another suggested, while a third wrote that Pooh Bear was thinking: “I love you…from over here.”
Another shared their own story: “I have a rescued male like this also. Can’t touch him but he’s always near me. Then at night, or if he thinks I’m asleep, he curls against me and purrs like crazy. I’ll pretend to be asleep just to enjoy it.”
It is not just former strays who do this, however, as one commenter admitted: “My cat does this and I’ve had him since birth. He’s obsessed with me, from a distance.”
Yazmin told Newsweek: “He is definitely a little retired old man; he lounges all day and is quite observant. He never meddles in any cat business; he is always alone and just watches everyone.”
When Pooh Bear began “following me around” months after being taken into Yazmin’s home, she realized that “he trusts me now, and is happy.”
She added: “Wherever I’m at, he is within a few feet away, always looking at me and watching what I’m doing. He likes when I sit on the floor and give him treats; he always slow-blinks at me with gratitude. I think him going viral is really funny, but also really amazing.
“He deserves all the love he can get, and I am so excited and happy to know that people love him and are following his journey. Together, we are watching him flourish.”
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