Help! I am trapped in an abusive relationship with a cat. : )

This is Musty (because he has a fantastic ‘stache). He is not my cat per se…..

He is my ‘work cat’.

He looks all sweet and calm.

Yeah… not so much. : ) This is a gated area adjacent to where I work and park. Musty isn’t waiting for me everyday but more often than not. And yes I do stop in on the weekends sometimes to check on him (I worry) and feed/water him if he is around.

EDIT - *The reason I called him butt-head is he took two days off prior to this and I got worried so he gets called a name.

He hasn’t ever tried to swat, bite, or attack me. He just lets me know he isn’t that cool with me yet. However, as you saw in the pics, if he is resting I can get close to the gate and he is okay with it. Will even go back to sleep even though I am only a foot away. (reach out and touch him distance) He will softly meow and give me sleepy eyes every so often. So many mixed signals. We have been doing this hiss/feed/sleep for quite a while now but no touchy. Might be wondering why I am still trying to get him to lighten up… well….

EDIT - *The food bowl has one can of wet food on top of an empty can size of dry. The blue bowl is for his water. He gets food first. I tried to get him water before food once but whooboy... think he sounds cranky in this vid?

This is Carrot. She is my cat. But she started the same as Musty… but got over it pretty quickly.

Day 1.

Day 3. She came home that day.

This is Ashley. He is my cat. He’s the first one that started out like Musty and Carrot. He held out longer than Carrot but eventually decided I was worthy enough to take him home.

He was a lot nicer about demanding breakfast back then, way more than Musty is now.

And another different reason that I am not giving up on Musty is this. This is Cookie. He is not my cat.

However Cookie let me get close enough to check for a chip and he had one. Google search for the number, call to the company, company contacting his parents, parents then contacting me, arranged pick up and reunion. Took about an hour or so. Cookie had been lost for little over two months.

EDIT - *This video was when I was keeping him company while waiting on a call back from the chip company.

This is Nova. She is not my cat. Slightly spicy but did let me check for a chip. She had one as well. Same process as Cookie but it took a bit longer but she ended up back with her family. She had been missing for two and a half years.

Sissy… not my cat. Chip. Stepped through the Process. She went home with her family. She had only been gone a few days.

There had been quite a few others that only stuck around for a feeding or two over the years not to be seen again, but I try my best to try and check for a chip and of course feed/water them if they are willing to eat. Can’t rescue them all but I won’t stop trying. No matter how angry they sound while they are waiting for breakfast. : )

*EDIT - Added some more information and cleaned up some poorly worded phrases/punctuation.