‘She's healthy, cared for, loved, fed, has a best friend who had it rough and they're close now’: Mother of lost cat finds her fur baby being cared for by a stranger for more than a year, decides her cat child is better off in the happy home she has found

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Nov 10, 2025 4:00 PM EST

More often than we would like, we come across stories of people rescuing cats, only to find out that they have mistakenly stolen a cat who had a home. These encounters are usually filled with fiery tension, as both the cat's new pawrents and its original pawrents desperately want to keep the cat as their own. But today we have a little bit of a different end to this kind of story. In that the original pawrent, after a year of missing their lost cat, found the new pawrents.

But upon finding them and seeing that their once cat child had found themselves a warm and loving home, decided that the best thing for their fluffy friend was to stay with her new family. A tough decision to make, but one that ultimately puts the cat child first, which is exactly what the catto deserves.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to start your Caturday with the funniest felines on the internet!

Advertisement
  • 01
    I found my cat that went missing over a year ago. She was an inside/outside cat and never strayed too far from home. I thought something bad happened to her but found her on a local cat page in my city. Someone
    via idekatp21
  • 02
    had mistaken her for a lost cat and found her a few houses down from where I live. I was upset for months but a year later and I found out someone took her in
    via idekatp21
  • 03
    and gave her a home. The relief of knowing she's safe, or was at least, was real. I dm'd the person who has her for an update on my little baby to see
    via idekatp21

  • Well this certainly is interesting. In the past we have heard these kinds of stories, but from the other side. From new pawrents who were not sure whether they had rescued or stolen a cat child from the streets. But here we finally get to see what it is like from the other side. Though one has to wonder why the would-be rescuer didn’t check for a chip?

  • 04
    how she's doing now. Hopefully I get a response soon and get to see her! Edit- I asked for her back! I was super hesitant about it bc | don't know this
    via idekatp21
  • 05
    person at all and she can easily decide to ignore my message, and I'd have no way of finding her. I even contacted the owner of the page, the one who posted her, back during summer
    via idekatp21
  • 06
    about getting in contact with the person she gave her away to. Emailed her when she never responded to my dm and still no response. I'll update if I ever get a response.
    via idekatp21
  • 07
    light brown cat sitting on a step looking over its shoulder
    via mark_gusev via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    I was kind of hesitant to post this because some people on the last post made me feel bad for letting my cat out which I knew after she went missing wasn't the best move, but it was already said and done. So please if
    via idekatp21
  • 09
    you have any judgements keep it to yourself thank you :) I got a random DM from someone but I assumed it was a spam account, so I ignored it. Curiosity got the best of me and a few minutes
    via idekatp21
  • 10
    later I opened the message. It was pictures but the pics were blurred unless I accepted the message so I did. Then I see my cat!! | wish you all knew what I felt when I saw how big she'd gotten and how
    via idekatp21
  • 11
    chunky lol. The lady I texted first never responded but she did see my message obvi bc the new DM I got was from Jane, who mentioned that I reached out to their friend.
    via idekatp21

  • While it might be a bit of a shock to see that your once slender cat child has become a bit chonky, it is a far cry from the terrible conditions that are usually synonymous with these stories. And it must have been such a relief knowing that her cat child was well cared for all these years.

  • 12
    Jane updated me on her (the cat) and explained the whole thing, told me she didn't know the cat belonged to me. Jane told me about how sweet she was, and I knew even after seeing her
    via idekatp21
  • 13
    pictures that it was her. She told me she didn't want to give her (the cat) up since she's been with her for over a year and I thought I'd have a problem with that but after thinking about it, I wasn't
    via idekatp21
  • 14
    mad about it. She's healthy, cared for, loved, fed, has a best friend who had it rough and they're close now. I wouldn't feel right taking her out her new home when she's happy and comfortable.
    via idekatp21
  • 15
    On top of that I have a female cat home with me, and I don't know if I would be able to afford to care for another cat. Jane sends me updates on my little gal and sometimes I ask for updates myself. And since
    via idekatp21
  • 16
    an orange cat being held up by a smiling asian woman
    via FOTO SALE via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 17
    some people in the last post mentioned that there's a possibility it wasn't my cat (even tho I 1000% knew), when I asked Jane what she calls the cat now, Jane
    via idekatp21
  • 18
    responded with the name of the street I live on :D so yeah, it's my little gal. I'll always call her mine bc she was my first cat, and I can't see myself not calling her mine. Thanks for reading haha
    via idekatp21

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

cat healthy child found mother year better stranger best friend find reddit story cat story fur baby Lost Cat love happy rough home
Scroll Down For The Next Article