Previous homeowners abandon 13-year-old cat, leaving a manual for the next residents, the scared kitty disappears but comes back a year later and is welcomed with love

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Nov 5, 2025 9:00 AM EST

Stray cats confuse us sometimes. On the one hand, their home is outside, in the world, with their friends and enemies and strange hangout spots. On the other hand, these stray cats walk into our homes like- all the time. And in that case… are they our cats? Or not? We feed these stray cats, we pet them, we let them in to cuddle on our couches and beds. And if we leave, when we move, is it our duty to take them, or is us leaving without the cats equal to us abandoning the cats? 

It's a fine line, and we're sure that it's a difficult decision to make every time that it happens. And in a way, we even have sympathy for people who have to go through making that decision. But we have more sympathy for the cats. And if this is a cat that you know well enough to make a manual on how to treat them, then maybe… just maybe, you should not leave them for the next residents to handle, because you don't know who the next residents will be or if they will even care. 

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  • 01

    "Previous homeowners left us their cat"

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  • 02
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  • 03
    We moved in a few years ago and the owner left a manual and a page was dedicated to a cat they let in in the winter. (They also dumped all the litter on the side of the house which was a fun discovery)
    via daisieduchess69
  • 04
    She didn't show up for almost a year but then we would see her daily. Her ears were always bloody and she came up with a busted nose. We took her to the vet, she's 13 and we couldn't let her live outside for another Midwest winter.
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  • 05
    She's vocal, sassy, and a sweetie. Glad the CDS finally deemed us worthy.
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  • On the one hand, there is some part of us that appreciates the manual. These people have done, or attempted to do, much more than many others who have carelessly abandoned cats before them. And on the other… we still think this could have been handled differently - better, avoiding the year that this kitty has spent alone in the wild. 

  • 06
    Areil26 What a great story, for her, anyway. So glad she had somebody to care for her. My parents once had a similar thing happen. They were buying a home in an another state, and the owners were all like, "I don't know what we're going to do with Kristy. Poor Kristy. No idea what we'll do with her..." My parents agreed to just take her. They already had two dogs anyway. Kristy ended up being the best dog. I think she was really grateful to have a happy home where she was loved. I'm sure your ki
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    daisieduchess69 OP It's Darby! Kristy was also so lucky to have your family. Just wish we'd had our girl before she'd been through so much.
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  • 08
    Dizzy_Break_2194 The real crime here is that you only put 2 pictures up of this baby. Shame on you.
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  • 09
    DaysOfWhineAndToeses A cutie. Thank you for taking her in. Her facial expression in the two photos: she looks both pensive and annoyed, lol.
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  • 10
    Educational-Tell8951 She looks like she's part Chinchilla
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  • 11
    vpseudo Bless you for being kind.
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    SteelSasquatch What a beautiful kitty
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    jeanb23 She is such a beautiful cat. I can't imagine making her live outside. Thank you for saving her. She is so sweet.
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  • 14
    ouryesterdays She's beautiful! Thank you for bringing her into your home and showing her what love and safety is.
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  • 15
    Technical_Piano_8832 Husband and I lived in Hawaii for several years. We knew it wasn't our landing space forever, so, we rented. We went to view a house and when the landlords unlocked it for us, this solid grey teenager sprinted out of nowhere and sat directly in the middle of the living room and just angrily meowed at us, but also performed figure 8s while we looked around.
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  • 16
    Landlords said the previous renters just left him there when moving back to the mainland. I mean, we were going to rent the place anyway- but this solidified it. House came with cat. We lived there for about 5 years, and when it was time for us to move back to the mainland Tim came with us. He lived another 14 or so years and just passed away this March. I miss that a- hole every day.
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  • This little one is so beautiful, it is clear on her face that she was meant to be adopted and loved on. And despite everything that she has gone through before, we can only be thankful that now, she is where is was always meant to be. 

  • 18
    Her name is Darby! She says thank you for the compliment and I don't think she loves this photo of herself but I do.
    via daisieduchess69

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