At first, his rescuer thought Martin was a feral cat but wanted to ensure he healed fully before releasing him back to the colony.

As his wounds healed though, it became clear that Martin was incredibly friendly and ready for indoor life, but having been confined in a crate for 2 months at this point started to take an emotional toll on him.

Once brought inside, Martin underwent an extensive healing process. This included having drains placed in his neck, daily bandage changes, red light therapy, and comprehensive pain management.

He also had to be confined to a crate to minimize the risk of reinfection. After his initial treatment, he was so agitated from the pain that he even tore through his first cone.

I've fostered several cats from Amy who runs a small local rescue known as 5 Kittens Rescue. After Martin's original rescue took him off the street, Amy had been caring for him during his recovery.

Amy posted on Instagram that Martin was showing signs of depression and desperately needed a foster home to help him recover and become the happy house cat he deserved to be.

After seeing Martin spend most of his time sitting in his litter box with his head down, my partner and I decided to open our home to him. No sad cat on our watch!

Having fostered about eight cats before (with two becoming permanent residents), I knew introducing new cats could be challenging, but I was feeling confident!

​Our resident cat Paul Stanley aka paulcat, is very outgoing and loves meeting new feline friends, so I was excited for him to show Martin how to cat. He teaches all of our fosters how to cat!

Our second resident cat Ericka is a bit sassy, so I was a little nervous about how she would react. She was the newest cat at the time so this was gonna be her first time meeting a new cat as well. But I did successfully socialize her watched her blossom into a confident little love bug from an anxious swatty girl.

I knew a slow introduction was essential because Martin hadn't had any stimulation for over two months and would be overwhelmed.

But living in a one-bedroom apartment in NYC, I introduce new cats by keeping them in a crate with food and litter box, in the living room for about a week until everyone feels comfortable.

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I basically do everything Jackson Galaxy says NOT to do but hey, I do what I can with the limited space I have.

First week is always stressful. I start with having the crate covered with a sheet, then watch everyone’s body language and vibes closely to decide how much more to let them interact and when.​

During this time period, all the cats would have the opportunity to smell and acknowledge each other's existence while having physical barriers in between them.