29-year-old cat fools cat-sitter into carrying, spoonfeeding and snuggling her by acting confused and disoriented: '[Her owner] informed me that the cat needed none of these things... and had simply identified me as a soft touch'

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Dec 11, 2025 9:00 AM EST

One of the things that we tell people who have never owned cats and are looking to adopt - one of the things that we warn them about - is that cats come in two categories. Cats can either be silly little adorable dudes and dudettes who do not have a single thought in their heads, or cats can be smart. Really really smart. Unexpectedly so. And the 29-year-old in this story might be one of the smartest. And funniest. 

Of course, this is not the first time that we have heard of a cat outsmarting a human, but this is definitely the funniest. This is a cat who has used its 19 years of life wisely, learning to get exactly what she wants from humans. She was being cat-sat by someone like us… someone who loves cats an enormous amount, someone who is willing to do anything for cats. She has learned to recognize soft humans like that over the years. And she used it. Shamelessly. And even though we laugh at this story, we know that we would have fallen for her trap just as easily. 

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  • 01
    photo of an old cat lying down
    via Unsplash / Jacco Rienks

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

  • 02
    MonkeyHamlet I once cat sat for a 29 year old cat. She would sit at the bottom of the stairs and yowl pitifully to be carried up. She couldn't find her bowl anymore and had to be fed a spoonful at a time. She had to sleep in the bed with me and I had to walk her to the litter tray during the night.
    via MonkeyHamlet
  • 03
    Then I spoke to her owner after the cat sitting had finished and she informed me that the cat needed none of these things, was perfectly capable of climbing stairs, feeding herself and slept in her basket, and had simply identified me as a soft touch.
    via MonkeyHamlet
  • 04
    I went over to visit a couple of weeks later and the cat ran straight to the bottom of the stairs and started yowling.
    via MonkeyHamlet

  • Truly, it doesn't matter how smart people believe cats to be, they are way smarter than that. Every once in a while, even our cats, whose level of intelligence we think we know, manage to surprise us. And honestly… we are more impressed than anything. 

  • 05
    rebeltrillionaire "Dear diary: made another stranger my bitch"
    via rebeltrillionaire
  • 06
    Quid Yossarian 29 years old she ain't no fool
    via QuidYossarian
  • 07
    MonkeyHamlet She had definitely figured out what humans were for.
    via MonkeyHamlet
  • 08
    photo of an old cat
    via Unsplash / Jacco Rienks

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

  • 09
    cookiemonstrosity54 omg this is the funniest story
    via cookiemonstrosity54
  • 10
    ekhfarharris This explained how cats managed to make the freaking ancient egyption to build a building- sized idol for them.
    via ekhfarharris

  • Nah… We're sure that cats could have convinced humanity to build statues of them back then or even today, but they are more focused on making us open cans of cat food. The statues were all us, admiring feline's cuteness all the way back then. Today, it's pictures of cats. Back then, statues. 

  • 11
    nescent78 Thats awesome. My 15 year old cat, makes me dot on her all the time. Biggest/funniest thing to me is she makes me watch her goto the litter box. She'll lead me to the hallway were its at, then walk to it watching me the whole time.
    via nescent78
  • 12
    I think she does this, because she's vulnerable and our younger (11 year old) cat has ambushed her a few times while coming out of the toliet...so Im now her body guard for toliet times.
    via nescent78
  • 13
    Edit: I should clarify she doesn't truely make me, I love doing everything I can for her. I spend so much time with her, watching her, etc that over the last 18 months ive managed to pick up on the fact she has kidney issues (stage two renal), had a tumor in her stomach (vet confirmed after I suggested something was wrong and we did an ultrasound), she got through chemo, and had become diabetic.
    via nescent78
  • 14
    photo of an old cat up close
    via Unsplash / Jacco Rienks

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

  • 15
    shewy92 Cats are smarter than a lot give them credit for. They're not dumb, they just don't care most of the time to show how smart they are.
    via shewy92
  • 16
    [deleted] And what did you learn in your 30 years on this earth? "People are bitches and they're my bitches"
    via reddit
  • 17
    SouhaEruka This cracked me up. Thank you for the laugh!
    via SouhaEruka
  • 18
    photo of an old cat lying down
    via Unsplash / Jacco Rienks

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

  • 19
    Jpost32 You spoon fed a cat without specific instructions to do so? Lol.
    via Jpost32
  • 20
    Iowa_Dave Our 18 year-old cat has started pulling this shit, yowling and all. My wife calls me the "cat butler". I'm on to you now, Stormy!
    via Iowa_Dave
  • 21
    asilee 10/10 would get bamboozled again.
    via asilee
  • 22
    webelos8 Well, after all that time, of course she knew who she could take advantage of. It would also be me
    via webelos8
  • 23
    [deleted] This is the most 'cat' story I've ever heard
    via reddit

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Tags

hilarious cat senior babysitting lol funny cats ridiculous silly Cats funny
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