'We started feeding him and started to get him to trust us': After disappearing for months, a starving community cat returns for help and chooses the family who feeds him as his forever home

Dwayne didn't arrive all at once. He became part of the neighborhood before he became part of a family. When he first showed up in March 2023, everyone assumed he belonged to someone else. He had a distinctive chocolate look, was a healthy size, and had the confidence of a cat who seemed to know where dinner was coming from. Neighbors kept asking who owned him, but no one ever claimed him. Still, he always looked fed, so it was easy to believe he had a home somewhere.

Then everything changed. He disappeared for months and returned at the end of the summer looking thin and standing at the window beside one of the family's cats as if asking for help. From that moment on, he stayed close, slowly learned to trust, and finally started coming inside. Once he realized this house was safe, the family had him scanned, tagged, neutered, and chipped… only to confirm what they already suspected. No one was coming for Dwayne.

Now he's not just visiting. He's a settled, pampered, oversized sweetheart who finally has a home of his own. And he looks like he was meant to be there all along.

01

via Kaan Keskin from Pexels / Canva

This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
Advertisement
02

via ianmorris1981
03

via ianmorris1981
04

via ianmorris1981
Advertisement
05

via ianmorris1981
06

via ianmorris1981
07

via ianmorris1981
Advertisement
08

via ianmorris1981
09

via ianmorris1981
10

via ianmorris1981
Advertisement
11

via AltruisticExit2366
12

via lewdchan-Owo
13

via Only_Possible_2308
Advertisement
14

via mesablueforest
Looking exactly like a little chocolate teddy bear with whiskers, he’s too cute for words. You just want to scoop him up, squish his cheeks, and never let that fluffy sweetness go.
15

via LeFaire87
16

via NineteenNinetyEx
Advertisement
17

via HelpyHelperer
18

via LuvFuzzball
This chocolate floof is looking rare and ridiculously cute, like a limited-edition cat you only find once in a lifetime. Sweet, soft, and totally adorable.
19

via All_is_a_conspiracy
Advertisement
20

via LindaBitz
21

via RoguePlanet2
Cadbury, Hershey, Snickers… the chocolate-themed names are endless! With a coat this rich and sweet, he could easily be named after half the candy aisle. Total dessert energy.
22

via ultraplasm
Advertisement
23

via knittedmerkin