Woman Hears Noises In Her Attic And Finds A Furry Intruder

“He had no home to go to. It was winter and terribly cold outside.”

When April Fiet heard a skittering in her attic, she assumed the noises were coming from a small rodent or even raccoon. It was winter, after all, and the attic seemed like a cozy place to hide from the cold.

But the sounds that echoed from above weren’t anything a mouse might make.

An unknown intruder stares at the camera.
April Fiet

“My husband heard meowing in the middle of the night,” Fiet 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 cat in our attic.’”

Fiet called animal control, who 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,” Fiet said.

A cat strolls by a security camera.
April Fiet

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,” Fiet 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.

A cat looks into a security camera.
April Fiet

“But Atticus was in a desperate situation,” Fiet said. “He had no home to go to. It was winter and terribly 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,” Fiet said. “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. He would hide the moment he heard us come into the room.”

A black cat wanders the laundry room.
April Fiet

Fiet 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,” Fiet said. “And over two months after we first found him in our attic, he came and sat in my lap!”

A black cat lays on the floor.
April Fiet

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,” Fiet 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.”

Read more about Atticus’ journey on Facebook.