Wholesome woman meets the perfect cat, Sweetie, at shelter just before a 10 day trip, she adopts Sweetie anyway seeing how unhappy she is at the shelter: 'I couldn't leave her there another night'

Author image for Briana Viser
Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Oct 3, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

Adopting a pet is one of the sweetest things to do. In the story here, the protagonist shares that she lost her cat of 13 years semi-recently. She's now ready to take on another cat, and goes to the shelter just to see what's available. As they say, you find someone when you least expect it. She falls in love with a cat there who is clearly unhappy. The shelter workers say that she usually can't be touched, but when the protagonist pets her, the cat warms up immediately. There's only one caveat: the woman is leaving soon for a 10 day trip and feels like it might be cruel to adopt a cat and then immediately abandon it. 

She goes to the internet for advice on what to do, and eventually they agree together that it's better for the cat (and for her) if she adopts her and hires a pet sitter while she's gone. The cat is much better off in a warm home instead of the shelter. 

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  • 01

    I met the perfect cat yesterday but am about to go on a 10-day trip. What do I do?

    Cats in cat shelter
    via Joana Baumg from corelens / Canva

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

  • 02
    I've been living with my boyfriend and his family for half a year now and Potato(one of the three cats)
    via u/space_cowgirl1897
  • 03
    has recently become obsessive over me. I'm not sure why. The only thing that had really changed was my partner and I ate
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  • 04
    some mushrooms that we're pretty sure was laced with LSD and had a horrible trip. The next
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  • 05
    I met the perfect cat at the shelter, but I'm about to go on a 10-day trip. What do I do?
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  • 06
    I lost my sweet 13 year old boy in April and finally felt ready to go look at the shelter yesterday.
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  • 07
    Well, lo and behold, I met the sweetest cat that I totally fell in love with.
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  • 08
    Not just any cat, either. This cat (let's call her Sweetie) is apparently very shy. Before I did the meet and greet with her, the
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  • 09
    staff warned me: "Sweetie won't let you touch her. She doesn't let anyone touch her." Well, Sweetie
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  • 10
    warmed up to me immediately and wanted scritches like there's no tomorrow. I felt that connection and can tell we're a
    via u/space_cowgirl1897
  • 11
    great match. I think she's just really uncomfortable at the shelter, especially bc she doesn't
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  • 12
    like one of the cats she's rooming with, hence why she's normally not affectionate there.
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  • 13
    The problem: I'm going on a 10- day trip starting June 21. I know it's a really bad idea to adopt a
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  • 14
    Animal shelter
    via Mia X from Pexels / Canva

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

  • 15
    cat, bring them home to a new environment and then be gone for 10 days. I live alone so I'd
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  • 16
    need a cat sitter. The staff told me they can't keep an animal "on hold" so to speak for more than a few days.
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  • 17
    So what should I do? Should I move on and forget about this cat? Or should I petition really hard with the shelter (pay extra
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  • 18
    fees, basically do whatever it takes) to adopt Sweetie, but let them keep her there for another
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  • 19
    Cat at home
    via Chalabala / Canva

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

  • 20
    three weeks until I'm back from my trip.
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  • 21
    I don't think adopting her before the trip is an option, as it just feels cruel for me to disappear for 10 days when a shelter cat is
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  • 22
    adjusting to their new home. environment. On the other hand, she seems really unhappy at the
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  • 23
    shelter and it might be worth it in the end even if that first month is a little tougher because of my trip.
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  • 24
    Edit: thank you everyone for the advice. I'm en route to the shelter right now to see what can be
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  • 25
    done. I'm ready to plead my case to the manager and then go from there
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  • 26
    Edit 2: she's coming home with me today
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  • 27
    Edit 3: she's home now and chilling in the bathroom while she gets acclimated. As soon as I went back to the shelter today I saw
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  • 28
    her huddled up against the wall in the same exact spot she was in yesterday. She was in a shared. room with two other cats and I
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  • 29
    could tell she did NOT get along with one of them and was very stressed. It's also a pretty run down shelter. So at that point it
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  • 30
    became a rescue mission as I simply couldn't leave her there for another night. I have a strong feeling that she's going to thrive
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  • 31
    in a quiet environment without the crazy noise/smells/etc at a shelter
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  • 32
    Weekend Worrier89 I would hire a pet sitter, or have a friend drop by a few times a day. It's better than
    via u/WeekendWorrier89
  • 33
    risking her being destroyed because she was there too long.
    via u/WeekendWorrier89

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shelter wholesome cat adoption animal photos cat adoption cute reddit story Photo reddit thread animal shelter Reddit Cats funny animals
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