After buying a new home, a family were soon surprised by an unexpected guest who claimed to live there and never left.
It was the previous owners’ cat, who had been abandoned when they moved out, and then came back to reclaim his home.
In a viral Reddit post shared on Friday under the username u/Impossible_pothos, the new owner of the house explains that after moving in, their daughter had asked for a kitten, but they said no because they were “wallet empty” after the purchase.
However, “the universe had other ideas,” the poster explains in the caption, before telling the story of how the tabby kitty approached them.
“This sweet cat came with the house! [He] came meowing to us one night outside the door. I opened my front door and she ran inside as if she knew the place already,” they wrote.
“In a split second, she jumped on top of the counters to the fridge, to the top of the kitchen cabinets. She was so scared, but I could tell she didn’t want to leave her home, so I put a cat bed up there until she acclimated enough to come down,” the poster said.
After posting about the cat on the neighborhood Facebook page and asking the neighbors about it, the poster learned that the old owner had kicked the cat out and left her behind prior to moving.
“Honestly, she’s better off here with us considering the condition I bought the house in. The basement was basically a litter box, deep claw scratches on the inside of doors etc…” the poster added. “My daughter named her Angel, and we got two more kittens a few months later.”
Pet abandonment is one of the issues that currently have shelters across the country overwhelmed with homeless pets.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says that in 2024 almost 3 million cats entered shelters nationwide, but not all of them were lucky enough to find new loving homes.
Approximately 2.2 million cats were adopted last year, 362,000 were returned to their owner or the field, 273,000 were euthanized, and 369,000 were transferred to other organizations.
The video quickly went viral on social media and it has so far received over 2,700 upvotes and 69 comments on the platform.
One user, Ok-Opportunity-2043, commented: “You are Angel’s angel. You saved her! I can’t believe someone would be so cruel to throw her out of her home. Thankfully, you and your family came along.”
Glibasme wrote: “Some people suck, but people like you make up for them in spades. She’s beautiful! I love the name your daughter picked out for her. Enjoy your new house and all your animals. They definitely make the home a better place.”
Serononin said: “I bet she’s so happy you fixed up her house for her.”
Newsweek reached out to u/Impossible_pothos for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
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