Courtney Gustafson could never have guessed just how much her life would change when she moved into her new rental home in the Poets Square neighborhood of 蜜柚直播.
Practically overnight, she became the unwitting guardian to not one, not two, but some 30 feral cats that called her backyard home.听
鈥淚've always been a cat person, but never had any plans to get into animal welfare or rescue cats, or have 30 of them at a time,鈥 Gustafson said.听
One of Courtney Gustafson's feral cat's "Monkey," finds shade under a truck.听
Gustafson moved into the midtown neighborhood five years ago, during the summer of 2020 in the middle of the COVID pandemic, when everyone was social distancing and isolated from regular life.
"I suddenly had 30 cats in a new place, and it wasn't like we were having housewarming parties or going to a normal job every day or meeting with friends, so it was kind of just me at home and 30 cats,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t kind of just laid the groundwork for me to become very obsessed with the cats at all times.鈥
The cats captured her heart immediately, and instead of watching TV or scrolling on her phone, Gustafson was spending her time sitting in the carport, getting to know her new feline neighbors.
鈥淚 almost approached it like an anthropologist or something,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 was like a kid in an aquarium all the time. I was just observing. I was just sitting, trying to figure out what their deal was, before I even knew how to help them.鈥
Like a true researcher, she began documenting the cats, recording their comings and goings and their interactions with each other in videos that she uploaded online.听
鈥淚 started an Instagram account for the cats primarily because I had too many pictures of them and the people in my life were getting so tired of seeing my cat pictures every single day,鈥 she said. 鈥淧eople in my life were like, 鈥榶ou have to stop, this is too much.鈥 And that was really it.鈥
Another of Courtney's Gustafson's feral cats "MK," stretches in the shade.听
She was surprised when her accounts began to gain a following.
鈥淚 still don't fully know how that happened. That has been the wildest thing. It's been years now, but it still just shocks me every day,鈥 Gustafson said. 鈥淚 made a TikTok account and a TikTok video kind of on a whim, and it completely took off. That's when I really started to reach, like, hundreds of thousands of followers, (get) millions of views. That, I think, I still have not really wrapped my brain around.鈥
To her surprise, the internet was just as taken with the cats as she was 鈥 especially the love story between two pair-bonded cats, Sad Boy and Lola 鈥 and her online fan base has now grown to over 180,000 followers on Instagram and one million followers on TikTok.
Two of Courtney Gustafson's resident feral cats, "Sad Boy," and "Lola."听
Before Gustafson inherited her colony of neighborhood cats, she had little knowledge of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 large population of feral cats, or local Trap, Neuter, Release efforts, and she felt alone in her struggle to care for the cats living in her carport.
It was her online presence, and the community that she cultivated on social media, that allowed Gustafson to build support around her feral cats, and get them the help they needed.
鈥淚 was posting on Instagram like, 鈥榳hat do I do? I have 30 cats.鈥 And, little by little, I started meeting people in the community who were doing similar work, and really started getting involved once I met the folks at the Humane Society community cats program,鈥 Gustafson said. 鈥淛oining forces with them meant that I could use their traps, I could use their vet clinic. They had the infrastructure to do that."
Courtney Gustafson poses for a selfie with a successfully trapped cat in the back of her car.听
And it wasn鈥檛 just local resources she was able to connect with online.
鈥淚 started getting messages from strangers saying, 鈥業 saw this cat, he's so cute. Is he neutered yet? Does he need this? Does he need that?鈥 I think people were seeing how much help I needed before I recognized it,鈥 Gustafson said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful to the people in the early days. Complete strangers who were like, 鈥榟ey, can I send you $50 so you can take this cat to the vet?鈥 People started asking if I could set up an Amazon wish list so that they could send cat food.鈥
While Gustafson can鈥檛 fully explain the viral success of her videos, she said she has her theories.
鈥淓verybody loves a cat video. I think any formula for internet success starts with a cat video,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd I think there's something about feral cats that are kind of forgotten and living on the margins of society. I think seeing that kind of creature experience care and love for the first time speaks to a lot of people. That's what speaks to me.鈥
Just as Gustafson had been taking care of her cats, they were also taking care of her. When Gustafson was suddenly laid off from her job, the extra income from TikTok meant she had security, and the means to stay living in the house.
鈥淚 just remember being like, 鈥榯hank god life worked out this way. Thank god for those cats,鈥欌 she said.
Gustafson had always had a passion for writing, and without a consistent job, she decided to take the chance and follow her dreams of being an author.听
鈥淚 had been trying to be a writer for a long time, and I had this platform already, and it was like the stars were aligning,鈥 she said.
A cat poses with Courtney Gustafson's book, "Poets Square:听A Memoir in Thirty Cats."听
Her debut book, 鈥淧oets Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats,鈥 was published by Penguin Random House at the end of April. It听 is structured as a collection of essays documenting the stories and experiences of the cats she has come to love, as well as how they have radically transformed her own understanding of empathy and resilience.
鈥淵ou kind of get to know a cat, and get to know a specific colony or story, which is a lot of what people like about my social media accounts too,鈥 she said.
But the memoir also goes much deeper than that. 鈥淧oets Square鈥 dares to explore complex social issues such as income inequality, misogyny and homelessness through the lens of the colony cats.
鈥淭he book goes back and forth a lot between a cat story and my story, and that's intentional. There's a chapter called hunger, which is about a cat who was very, very hungry, and at the same time, I was working at a food bank here in 蜜柚直播 and witnessing hunger," Gustafson said.听
鈥淭he biggest lesson 鈥 and what I hope people will get from the book听鈥 is that a lot of the things that we are all conditioned to see as personal failings are systemic. The systems are working the way they're intended, to privilege certain people and give people opportunities that other people don't have. And this is very true in animal welfare, but I think can be expanded to just about any topic.鈥
So, what鈥檚 next for Gustafson? Well, she is already thinking about her next published work.
鈥淚 would like to write something new that maybe is not quite a sequel, but picks up where this book leaves off and explores a little bit of cats, but maybe some topics beyond that too,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 am absolutely planning to write more books, although I will say easier said than done, finding the time to write during kitten season.鈥
Courtney Gustafson checks on a crated cat.听
For now, she continues to spend her time trapping feral cats across 蜜柚直播, caring for her own colony, and using her platforms to support TNR efforts and inspire her followers to get involved in their own communities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just been such a human experience," she said. "It started with cats, but it has really just become about connection and community."