After a chubby, lovable tomcat gets left behind when his family moves out, a dad and his kid adopt him before he's forced out into freezing winter weather: 'I can't imagine not having this sweet boy around'

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Jan 31, 2026 11:00 AM EST

You expect a house you buy to come with marble countertops, but this house came with a cute cat instead. His family left him behind, but lucky for him, the dad and son who moved in after them adopted him. Instead of having to survive on the streets, this fluffy tomcat will not only have a warm winter, but a better family to truly love him.

Of all the choices you can make while moving, leaving your cat behind should not be one of them. We know that cats aren't good with change, but a change of house will be far less difficult than all of a sudden waking up to the only family you've known your entire life being gone. Cats may not understand the concept of abandonment, but they certainly understand that their lives all of a sudden became a lot less safe.

But even if they don't understand why you left, it doesn't mean that you should. You understand it, and that makes it even worse. Maybe the cat below was a troublemaker, tomcats certainly have a reputation for that sort of thing. Probably because they haven't been snipped yet, so they have an excess of testosterone that causes them to be more territorial and less friendly. A quick, painless medical procedure should fix that right up! 

Thankfully, the new homeowners decided to adopt him when they moved in. He may have been left behind, but he got a better family than the one that left him. If nothing else, we're thankful for that. Everyone, meet 'El Gato Blanco'!

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    I've never had a cat, honestly didn't even like cats but was kind of forced into cat ownership as El Gato Blanco (that's what my son and I named him) here was left by the previous owner of my house. Fast forward a few months he's become my best friend and I can't imagine not having this sweet boy around.
    via CoolDad4*0Blaze
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    wewereromans Has he been neutered? Those are some big tomcat jowls on him!
    via wewereromans

  • Tomcats have what we like to call “peanut cheeks”, the part where their whiskers come out look a lot like those peanut-shaped candies. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. But, there's actually an interesting reason why tomcats have such puffy cheeks, also known as “jowls”. They thicken the skin around their face, making them more durable during duels with fellow tomcats. It also gives them a more muscular appearance, but to us, it just looks awwdorable.

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    surreal-sunrise I'm so glad he has a good human now!
    via surreal-sunrise
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    bam1007 Definitely his house. You just pay his mortgage.
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    Malnurtured_Snay Wrong. This cat who adopted you has a nice home for you to live in.
    via Malnurtured_Snay

  • “I’m so glad you bought his house and he can have a family that loves him. Makes me so sad and mad that someone just left their pet behind.” said MascaraHoarder. We couldn't agree more! Like we said above, leaving your cat behind should never be a solution. They're a part of your family, and you wouldn't leave a child behind, would you?

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    Oldnavylover Perhaps you needed him just as much as he needed you. Beautiful that you found each other
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    Noodles

    A
    via chattymia

    My house came with a cat too! Previous tenants abandoned their cat and now i have queen Noodles. I took her with me when we moved states

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    Vanta

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    Might want to get him checked, look like he has advance tomcat cheeks and eyes. Like Vanta here. Probably needs a snip snip or else there may be more cats. Once snip he will probably become even more friendly, Vanta here started giving us mach 2 headbutts once he lost his pair.

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    ariiidreamss Aw look at his puffy cheeks!! How cute. Shame on people who abandon their animals. Thank you for keeping this lil one
    via ariiidreamss
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    PeltonChicago Frankly, this is probably the best result the cat could have asked for
    via PeltonChicago

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freezing cute cats sweet family winter Cats animals chubby
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