Diary of a Cat Mom
Diary of a Cat Mom is a reflective cat podcast created and hosted by Dagmar Gatell about understanding cats more deeply — and creating a calmer, more connected life for both you and your cats.
Based on real experiences caring for over 50 cats throughout her life, each episode shares quiet observations, emotional moments, caregiving reflections, and gentle insights from everyday life with cats. From routines, behavior, and emotional wellbeing to grief, gratitude, overstimulation, trust, and the small meaningful moments many people overlook — this is not a traditional “how-to” podcast, but a space for understanding, awareness, and lived experience.
Beyond cat care itself, Diary of a Cat Mom also explores our connection to nature, emotional presence, personal growth, and the way our inner state can influence the animals who share our lives. Because living with cats is never only about feeding and routines — it’s also about energy, safety, trust, patience, and how we show up emotionally in the spaces we create together.
Created for cat lovers who see their cats as family, this podcast offers companionship, reassurance, perspective, and emotional support during seasons of caregiving, uncertainty, healing, change, and letting go.
Diary of a Cat Mom is a personal storytelling podcast and does not replace professional veterinary advice. Every cat is unique, and medical or behavioral concerns should always be discussed with a trusted veterinarian or qualified professional.
You’re not alone on this journey.
We’re learning, loving, and growing together — one paw print at a time.
Diary of a Cat Mom
My Cat Doesn't Want to Be Touched | Understanding Cats | Ep. 91
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Lilly was a feral kitten who didn't trust humans and wanted nothing to do with being touched. Every attempt to pet, brush, or care for her was met with hissing and swatting. In this podcast episode of Diary of a Cat Mom, I share Lilly's journey from a frightened feral kitten to a cat who finally felt safe, and the lesson she taught me about trust, patience, and not taking a cat's fear personally.
What You'll Learn in this Cat Podcast
- Why some cats don't like being touched
- How fear can look like rejection
- The challenges of socializing a feral cat
- Why trust doesn't always look like cuddles
- How patience helped Lilly become part of a multi-cat family
Timestamps & Chapters
00:00 - My Cat Doesn't Want to Be Touched
00:31 - Lilly's Life in the Cat Community
01:49 - The Tree Rescue
02:50 - Bringing Lilly Inside
03:35 - Why Touch Felt Unsafe
04:47 - Learning to Socialize a Fearful Cat
05:42 - The Vet Visit That Changed Everything
06:18 - What Trust Really Looks Like
07:08 - Episode End
This is where I’ve gathered everything that supports me and my cats:
https://diaryofacatmom.com/cat-care-resources/
About the Diary of a Cat Mom Podcast
Diary of a Cat Mom is a personal cat podcast created by Dagmar Gatell, sharing real moments from life with cats. Everything shared comes from lived experience as a cat mom and is not intended as professional veterinary advice. Every cat is unique, and for health concerns, it’s always best to consult your trusted veterinarian.
Help More Cat Parents. Make a Bigger Difference. 🐾💕
Share your knowledge, experience, and story to help cat parents better understand and care for their cats.
→ Learn More About Becoming a Guest
https://stan.store/fromhereai/p/podcast-guest-package
Connect with Passionate Cat Parents. 🐾🐱
Reach an engaged community of cat parents, build trust in your brand, and support educational content that helps cats and the people who love them.
→ Learn More About Podcast Sponsorship
https://stan.store/fromhereai/p/podcast-sponsor-package
Diary of a catmom My cat doesn't want to be touched. This is Diary of a Cat Mom. Have you ever had a cat that didn't want to be touched? Not just a cat that preferred their independence, but a cat that reacted to your hand with hissing, swatting, or running away. I experienced that with Lily. Lily was a fural kitten. I took her into my home because she couldn't survive in the cat community she was born into. She came from a litter of three kittens and she was the only girl. And from the beginning, she was much more shy and timid than her two brothers. They were confident and rowdy, and Lily wasn't. As the kittens got older and their mom stopped protecting them, Lily had to learn to stand up for herself. And her brother, they would push her away from the food bowls, hiss at her when she tried to eat beside them. I watched that from a distance for a while because I hoped she would find the confidence to hold her crown, but instead the opposite happened. Little by little, Lily pulled herself away from the groove. She would wait until everyone else finished eating and then come back to nibble on whatever crumbles were left behind. Watching that was really hard for me and that made my heart heavy. But I still had hope, I thought maybe she just needed more time to adjust. That hope disappeared totally. The day her brothers chased her up a very high tree. Lily climbed high into the tree for safety, but her little sneaky brother stayed below waiting for her. So she remained in the tree the whole night and then the whole entire next day. And I kept hoping she would eventually find the courage to come down and stand her crown, but she never did. So finally I accepted that Lily wasn't going to survive in that cat community environment. I got a ladder, climbed up the tree, and gently threw a towel over her and then carried her down the tree. Brought her inside my home with the thought she would feel safe. And then I created a safe room for her with a bed and food and water, a little box and a nice high cat tree. And I thought, Lily, now she has her paradise finally. She did not see it this way. She spent most of the time hiding from me. And whenever I tried to touch her, she would hiss at me and smack my hand violently. Because humans felt totally unsafe for her. Problem was I wanted to make sure she's okay and I needed to touch her to check on her whenever she would have injuries from this incident. Her beautiful fur was full of prendulous leaves and dirt from her time outside, so I would need to press her. And eventually she would need her nails trimmed because she loved to scratch me and my skin opened up and pleading all the time. And she also needed to go to the bed because she needed to be spayed and a health check and things like that. So every time when I tried to touch her was a strong resistance. If you ever had a cat like this, you know what I'm talking about and how personal that sometimes can feel. Because I was just trying to help her, like I was feeding her, trying to keep her safe. But she didn't want to have anything to do with. So I had to keep reminding myself that this was not personal. She was not rejecting me. She just was at the end protecting herself. She had learned in the cat community that the world wasn't safe. And because she never had contact with humans, so she wasn't used to it. I stayed focusing on my goal, not the goal of making her love me or the goal of turning her into a lap cat. My goal was simply helping her to feel safe. So whenever I had the opportunity, I would gently touch her. And I learned to be quick because she wanted to smack my hand all the time. And after I was finally able to trim her nails, my own fear of being scratched dropped almost to zero. And that actually helped both of us. I became much more relaxed around her, and she slowly became more relaxed around me. And then came the vet wizard. Something happened there that I will never forget. The vet clinic was completely unfamiliar to Lily. Like there were strange smells, strange sounds, strange people. And suddenly I was the most important thing for her. The only thing she recognized, the only thing she knew, the only thing that she felt safe. So she climbed onto me and she wrapped her paws around my neck, holding onto me as tightly as she could. And for the first time, I realized she trusted me far more than I thought. Not because she wanted cuddles, and not because she wanted to sit on my lap, but because she was scared and she chose me for her safety. When we returned home, she went right back to hiding and felt like she forgot everything. But something had changed. Week after week, the socialization continued and got easier. And slowly Lily became more confident. She never became a cat that loved being touched. And she never became a lap cat either. But she did become comfortable enough and felt safe enough to be part of my multi-cat household happily. She ate confidently, she mingled with the other cats, she played with them, she snuggled with them, and most importantly, she felt safe. And that was always my goal. I think sometimes we judge success by whether a cat becomes affectionate in the way we want them to be. But Lily really taught me something different. Trust doesn't always look like cuddles, and trust doesn't always look like a cat sleeping on my lap. Sometimes trust looks like a scared cat slowly learning that they are no longer have to be afraid. And for Lily, that was enough. And honestly, for me, it was enough too. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Direvil Cat Mom. If you ever cared for a shy, fearful or foral cat, I would love to hear your story. So until next time, give your cats a little extra love and attention from me and have a wonderful day. Don't miss the next entry. There's always another little moment, another little story, another lesson waiting to be shared. I will talk to you in the next entry.