'I don't know how anyone could abandon their pet': Family moves out and leaves their cat behind, their kind ex-neighbor finds the feline terrified under the house and gently coaxes it into giving her a chance

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Dec 7, 2025 9:00 AM EST

Every once in a while, we look at our cats… our spoiled little housecats, resting on our fluffy duvets, their tummies full of snacks, their expression so serene, and we think that thank god they are with us. Because there is not a single chance in heck that they would survive out there on their own. And yet, despite this being true for essentially every housecat, there are still people like the ones in this story - people who abandon their cats. All alone, facing a reality they have never had to face. We could not be angrier at people like that. 

We can only say thank you to the people like the neighbor in this story. The neighbor realized that this cat had been abandoned after their neighbors moved, and when they found the cat terrified and alone under their home, they did the best thing they could have done - coaxing the cat gently and slowly out from under there, bringing the cat home, and giving the poor thing a second chance at life. 

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

Advertisement
  • 01

    "neighbours moved out and left their cat"

    Cheezburger Image 10582816512
    via Constant_Leg_5862
  • 02
    Cheezburger Image 10582816768
    via Constant_Leg_5862
  • 03
    NoBlackScorpion That's inexcusable. Thank you for taking care of her
    via NoBlackScorpion
  • 04
    OP Constant_Leg_5862 of course, I don't know how anyone could abandon their pet.
    via Constant_Leg_5862

  • This. No matter how many times we hear about this happening - and unfortunately, we hear about it far too often for our liking - we will never, ever understand it. Our pets are part of our families. You don't simply abandon family. 

  • 05
    Glum-Effect1429 well, r/nowmycat!
    via Glum-Effect1429
  • 06
    OP Constant_Leg_5862 I hope so we want to take her to the vet just to make sure she has all her vaccines etc but they legally have to call the previous owners, I'm scared they'll want her back just to abandon her again,). They moved out a week or two ago and she's been sleeping under my house too scared to come out until a couple days ago. I never saw them come by to find her so i'm pretty positive they left her intentionally as I know the cat was gifted to them through the brief conversation i'
    via Constant_Leg_5862
  • 07
    treedecor I know this might sound unethical, but maybe just tell the vet you found the cat and don't know if she had previous owners... Normally I wouldn't condone lying, but if these people left the cat behind, they obviously don't care about her and shouldn't be trusted to care for her at all. She's better off with you
    via treedecor
  • 08
    OP Constant_Leg_5862 Oh yes I totally would it's more so a worry because they check for a microchip which I can't really do anything about.
    via Constant_Leg_5862
  • 09
    310410celleng If you know the Vet, you could try and explain what had happened and maybe the Vet will look the other way. At least in my neck of the woods, the Vet doesn't scan for microchips unless you tell the Vet it was a stray. Or maybe you could just outright lie and say your neighbors gave you the cat before moving out because they could no longer afford it.
    via 310410celleng
  • 10
    OP Constant_Leg_5862 I was mainly gonna tell the vet it was abandoned so I could get the microchip info transferred but I might just not bring it up and opt for an engraved collar with my contact info incase she ever goes missing. I don't know yet but at this point I'll give up anything to keep this cat
    via Constant_Leg_5862
  • 11
    k3anuw3aves What scumbags. This cuties fur reminds me of my late cat, it's called a Torbie. She's tabby but has tortoiseshell/calico colouring. I always loved her fur and thought it was so beautiful.
    via k3anuw3aves
  • 12
    OP Constant_Leg_5862 Aw i'm sure your cat was so cute! We've been calling her tabby for now because of her fur :)
    via Constant_Leg_5862
  • 13
    Blue-Eyed-Lemon Thank you so much for taking care of her!! What's her name?
    via Blue-Eyed-Lemon
  • 14
    OP Constant_Leg_5862 We've been calling her tabby because of her fur until we find something that sticks!
    via Constant_Leg_5862
  • 15
    Fair-Swimming-6697 Never ceases to amaze me how people unleash their sh*t personalities and mental problems onto helpless animals. Makes me so mad; my only solace with these types of situations is that they don't have the animal anymore to abuse. I can't imagine what the poor thing must have been through with people like that. Disgusting.
    via Fair-Swimming-6697
  • 16
    piemakerdeadwaker Monsters! Idk how people do this!
    via piemakerdeadwaker
  • 17
    goatislove i got a kitten a couple of weeks ago and i cant imagine ever abandoning him like this. ive seen some really terrible pet owners in my time and i just don't understand how you can spend time with such an innocent and loving animal and neglect them. i hope kitty has an amazing rest of their life with you
    via goatislove
  • 18

    "update (neighbours abandoning cat)"

    Cheezburger Image 10582819328
    via Constant_Leg_5862
  • 19
    Juicy Ju
    via Constant_Leg_5862

  • We are so, so happy that it ended up working out for you. The last thing we would have wanted would have been for her to have ended up in the hands of the same people who tossed her out like she was nothing in the first place. She's with much, much better people now. 

  • 20
    we took her to the vet today just to make sure she had been spayed & vaccinated and to get the microchip details transferred to us, her microchip had no contact info so our city council will put ours in as that's how they go about not being able to contact previous owners.
    via Constant_Leg_5862
  • 21
    she's 3 years old and we named her tabunion! ( questionable name but it stuck lol)
    via Constant_Leg_5862

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

Tags

aww wholesome cat adorable adoption heartwarming cute adopted story Cats rescue
Scroll Down For The Next Article