Teenager who already has four feline family members works to convince her father to let her adopt another stray cat: 'I think NotMyCat is about to become NowMyCat.'

Ayala Sorotsky • Writer and Editor

May 19, 2026 8:45 AM EDT

Let us spoil you from the beginning, because it's a very sweet spoiler: the dad gave in, the stray cat was promoted to a house prince.

First of all, we're always happy when a stray cat finds a forever home. It's not any regular adoption story that you hear every once in a while from friends, like "I went to a shelter and adopted this puppy". It's a more wholesome and elevated version in which a stray animal gets to have an entire hero's journey, from rags to riches. We love every stray promoted to a pet, but there's something extra special and touching about these heartwarming adoptions.

But as usual, this isn't just a regular "stray finds a home" sort of situation. For some meowsterious reason, the Cat Distribution System likes to give us complex narratives and a soap opera amount of characters. Here, there's not only the cute cat getting adopted - there's the teenage girl who does everything in her power to bring him home, her live-in boyfriend, both her parents with opposing opinions about the adoption, and there's also a cousin in the house. We don't know about you, but we just imagined all of them appearing one by one like a 90s' dramatic comedy show opening.

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It's somehow always the dad. But don't worry, that's how all classic “dad and cat” duos start.
The beginning is always “As long as I'm alive, no cat will live under my roof!”, or a “If you bring this creature in, I'm moving out.”, and sometimes even a “I hate cats. I hate them so much. If you bring a cat home, I'm sending them to the nearest ditch.”
But, lo and behold, it always ends along the lines of “I bought the water kind of tuna so I can give half of the cans to the cat.”, and “I wasn't hugging him, he fell asleep in my arms. For 5 hours. He was purring, and it feels nice.”, and even “What? He likes to sit on my shoulders when I fix things in the garage. He's my little helper.”
Just… classic dad and cat.
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Looking at this sweet cat makes us realize how absolutely handsome he is. What a beautiful boy. This is not just a random cat - this is a frog waiting for his chance to be a prince. This is the royal kind of cat.
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You see? We're not the only ones thinking this cat is going to be the father's cat in the end. It's like a story trope at this point, despite it happening in reality.
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