'This cat wandered into my apartment last night': Student finds out her neighbors abandoned their cat while moving, takes him in and turns to the online feline family for advice

Author image for Ayala Sorotsky
Ayala Sorotsky • Writer and Editor
Aug 26, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

Working at I Can Has Cheezburger, working with cats all the time, has the best perk - reading about cute cats from all around the world. We love all these Cat Distribution System adoptions, these daring rascues from the side of a busy road, and generally learning of more sweet people adopting sweet cats, being a family together. But, unfortunately, not all stories are the peak of happiness - even if the cat is definitely okay.

You see, this cat was abandoned. It's already a disheartening start to a story - but fear not, since this cat wandered into an apartment of a neighbor who cares. But this person was never a cat pawrent and didn't know what to do. It's such a confusing situation, both for the human and the cat, who just wanted to go back home - but their human family moved away, leaving him behind. Seriously, who does that?!

Sure, it might not be optimal for the person who suddenly has a cat in their apartment - and she said she wasn't ready to become a cat pawrent - but she did the right thing: turning to the online feline family to ask for advice. The online feline family is one of our favorite things about reading these cat stories - you're all such wholesome and loving people.

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  • 01
    This cat wandered into my apartment last night. My downstairs neighbors moved out and they left him behind.
    via Musab94
  • 02
    Cheezburger Image 10545967616
    via Musab94

  • At least this void baby looks comfortable enough to rest his eyes after such a traumatic event. We can only hope he found a loving home to live a happy cat life.

  • 03
    At the recommendation of my friend (who has cats) I left her in the bathroom with food and water.
    via Musab94
  • 04
    I don't have proper cat food so I gave her crushed tortilla chips.
    via Musab94
  • 05
    I had the worst sleep in my life because I could hear her crying and scratching the door all night.
    via Musab94
  • 06
    I don't want to keep her and I let my landlord know. He said he will contact the owner. What should I do in the meantime?
    via Musab94
  • 07
    packed boxes in an apartment ready for a move
    via sturti

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    Traroten ⚫ Top 1% Commenter Give her food, water, and a place to do her business. She may have scratched because she had nowhere to to a shelter - these that Talk abandoned her don't deserve her. 2.7K Reply ○
    via Traroten
  • 09
    Any-Finance1920⚫ Given the landlord wasn't aware + the cat was able to wander into another apartment, is it possible she ran away during moving instead of being abandoned? I absolutely wouldn't give her back until I got an explanation, though. 839 > Reply ...
    via Any-Finance1920
  • 10
    samemamabear I got my current cat when the people across the street moved and abandoned him.
    via samemamabear
  • 11
    My previous cat did escape during a move, fortunately we only moved 30 minutes away, so we put posters everywhere, contacted shelters, used Petfinder, etc, and
    via samemamabear
  • 12
    returned daily to look for him. We got him back about 3 and a half months later when a neighbor saw a flyer at the hardware store and realized he was the stray they were caring for. 541 ◇ Reply
    via samemamabear
  • 13
    rach 1874 ⚫ We got my first cat when I was four because he ran away from his home due to them getting a set of three kittens. He was an older cat 10ish years according to the vet. We
    via rach1874
  • 14
    had no idea that he had run away from the planned development near our trailer park. I was just playing on our front patio on multiple days and this cat kept coming and hanging out with me. Went
    via rach1874
  • 15
    on for a couple of days until my four year old brain decided to sneak him into our travel trailer. My sister and my bedroom had a door so I unlocked it from the inside and when I opened it the kitty just followed me in and settled on my bed. He slept for hours.
    via rach1874
  • 16
    Finally I told my mom I had a cat in my room. She was upset but being the cat lover she is she got dad to pick up cat food and litter and a box
    via rach1874
  • 17
    on his way home. We had this cat for weeks until a lady came around going door to door with a photo of her cat asking if people had seen him.
    via rach1874
  • 18
    When my mom said that yes we actually have him he's been living with us and has bonded with my daughter.
    via rach1874
  • 19
    The lady was thrilled to have found him. When my mom brought him into the living area to the lady this cat hissed and scratched and bit the lady and ran to me. The
    via rach1874
  • 20
    lady was very cool about it actually and said she shouldn't have gotten so many kittens at once. Asked if we could keep him since he seemed happy with four year old me, my mom said of course. She left. I'm sure it was sad for her but I was glad I got to keep my kitty! 244 > Reply
    via rach1874
  • 21
    olive_dix ⚫ Awwww That must have been hard for her, especially since she was going door to door trying so hard to find him. You can tell she really loved that cat because she just wanted him to be happy 100 > Reply ...
    via olive_dix
  • 22
    Glum_Airline4017 ⚫ We ended up with a cat that was left when a neighbor moved. Neighbors were garbage. We were just feeding some but then we got hit with a significant snow storm. We brought him inside so he wouldn't di and he decided he liked it in our home and didnt want to leave. He was a great cat. 10 > Reply ...
    via Glum_Airline4017
  • 23
    liftbikerun You're far too kind in your assumption. It's abysmal how people treat their pet family members in these cases. If my cat ran away during a move, I'd be out scouring for days attempting to locate them. I would go to the ends of the earth, I thought my boy cat got out one day and I spent the next 5 hours walking our neighborhood in 100f+ until my GF called me that he was sleeping in the closet. 25 Reply
    via liftbikerun
  • 24
    Noeyesonlysnakes • My cat hid in our garage when we moved (I was 6 at the time). My dad went back and found him the next day and brought him to our new home. Moving is stressful and hectic. 8 5 3 Reply
    via Noeyesonlysnakes

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adopt cat adoption adorable cats cat adoption bad neighbors reddit story felines cute cats adopted feline story Bad Neighbor Cats
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