Like many cats, Georgie has a place to sleep, daily meals and a frequently filled water bowl. The difference between Georgie and other cats: She lives in her own cabin off of the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail.
The chunky orange cat loves attention but only for a short period of time. She approaches people so they can pet her, but she won’t stay right by them for too long. Sometimes, she sits right next to the trail, anticipating her next visitors.
“She’s the ambassador for the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail,” caretaker Kathy McGlone said.
A few months ago, an anonymous person built a cabin for Georgie, where she’s lived ever since when not roaming the trail.
Her cabin is next to the Robinson Heights neighborhood. About five households take care of the cats in the area and always make sure they are fed.
Before becoming a trail cat, Georgie lived in a house in the neighborhood, McGlone said. In 2023, she migrated to become more of an outdoor kitten, going to different houses in the area for food.
That year, a colony of 14 cats, including Georgie, was spayed and neutered through Operation Catnip, McGlone said. Some of the cats were taken in, and others that wanted to stay outdoors were taken care of from a distance.
Georgie was a special cat from the start — only about one in five orange tabby cats are female. But she also stood out as the cat that never wanted to be around her peers. She liked to be alone, and she didn’t get along with the other cats the same way they did with each other, McGlone said.
Two college students tried to adopt Georgie once, but the cat didn’t enjoy apartment living. Georgie was taken back to the neighborhood, and McGlone put a sign at her spot on the trail. The sign explains Georgie is happy with her life on the trail and tells readers to not adopt her.
Georgie continued to get help from the neighbors after her return to the trail. One of the residents made a heated box for her to keep warm during the winter.
Georgie’s cabin walls are built from wood, and her roof is made of asphalt shingles. In big green letters, “Georgie’s Cabin” is written on the front, in between the painted purple and pink flowers.
Painted paw prints decorate the sides of the cabin. Georgie also has a front porch containing her food bowl. People from the trail this week have added to the cabin. On her porch now sits a yellow flower and a pinecone, left as gifts for Georgie.
Inside her cabin, there are blankets for her to lie on, gifted from someone in the area for Georgie to be cozy.
She was known on the trail before the cabin, but her celebrity status has grown in recent months. Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail is known for attracting runners, bikers and walkers. Passersby often greet, pet and snap photos of Georgie.
Helping Georgie thrive is a neighborhood effort. The households that look over her all walk on the trail regularly and check in on her frequently.
The coyotes on the trail present a threat to the cats in the area. Eight cats have died as a result of coyote attacks on the trail. To protect Georgie, the residents of the neighborhood ensure Georgie’s food is put away at nighttime.
Once, the caretakers tried to get all of the cats inside at night to protect them from the coyotes, but Georgie had other plans, said caretaker Rhonda Felheim. She broke through the screen porch where her caretakers placed her.
Georgie’s mother, Torti, another trail cat, also likes to be independent and roam the neighborhood free, Felheim said.
“She is just like her mother,” Felheim said.
Devon Richardson, a 25-year-old UF animal science senior, has walked her dog, Jagger, on the trail for a few years and noticed Georgie. She said Georgie is reliable because she is always there.
“[Georgie] is like a great improvement to my mental health. It’s something I looked forward to every day,” Richardson said. “I’m sure it would help other people who’ve been stuck inside studying for exams.”
Contact Teia Williams at twilliams@alligator.org. Follow her on X @teia_williams.
Teia is a general assignment reporter for Metro. She is also a second semester journalism transfer student from Daytona State College and served as Editor-in-Chief for In Motion, DSC's student newspaper. When she's not writing, Teia can be found reading, going to concerts, at the beach and talking about her favorite artists.
