A chunky orange tabby cat named Georgie has become a beloved celebrity along Florida’s Gainesville Hawthorne State Trail, where she lives in her own custom built cabin complete with a front porch, painted flowers, and a sign that reads Georgie’s Cabin in big green letters. An anonymous person built the wooden structure with an asphalt shingle roof for Georgie a few months ago, and the cabin has since been decorated with purple and pink flowers, painted paw prints on the sides, and even gifts from passersby including a yellow flower and pinecone left on her porch this week. Georgie is special for multiple reasons beyond her charming personality: only about one in five orange tabby cats are female, making her rare among felines, and she’s known for being fiercely independent and refusing to get along with other cats the same way they interact with each other. Before becoming a trail cat, Georgie lived in a house in the nearby Robinson Heights neighborhood but migrated outdoors in 2023, eventually becoming part of a colony of 14 cats that were spayed and neutered through Operation Catnip with some being adopted while others like Georgie chose outdoor life.
Two college students once tried to adopt Georgie but she didn’t enjoy apartment living, so caretaker Kathy McGlone returned her to the trail and put up a sign explaining that Georgie is happy with her current life and asking people not to try adopting her. About five households in the Robinson Heights neighborhood work together to care for Georgie and the other trail cats, ensuring they have daily meals, filled water bowls, heated boxes for winter warmth, and protection from coyotes that have killed eight cats in the area by bringing food inside at nighttime. Runners, bikers and walkers who frequent the popular trail often stop to greet, pet and photograph Georgie, with UF animal science senior Devon Richardson saying the reliable cat is a great improvement to her mental health and something she looks forward to seeing every day after studying for exams.
Source: https://www.alligator.org/article/2026/01/meet-georgie-the-cat-the-ambassador-of-hawthorne-trail
