Sweet stray decides woman's garden is now hers, but then turns out to be the local crime boss around other cats, internet encourages woman to adopt her anyway

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Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Jun 11, 2026 3:00 PM EDT

Would you adopt the neighborhood prowler?

Cats come in all kinds of forms. Some are more introverted and feisty, some are more like dogs and just want love all the time. As a street cat, it's a life of danger. You have to watch yourself all the time and always look our for your safety from other dogs, birds, people, raccoons, and other cats. Take it from the story in Reddit's r/NotMyCat. This woman noticed that a local stray has chosen her garden as her own, which she finds absolutely endearing. She started sleeping there and greeting and woman friendly, demanding attention. She was rubbing against her legs and headbutting her for pets. She was calm and tame with the woman, and the two would even go on little walks around the neighborhood without a harness or treats. It seemed they were a purrfect match, a really special bond. It's like they were already two peas in a pod. 

But then the woman noticed something. This stray tabby was strange around other cats, and whenever there was another cat, she tried to avoid them. The other cats would hiss and try to start something, but the woman always protected her little kitty. The woman assumed her tabby was getting in fights because of the other cats starting things, and that she was innocent. But then she decided to check the security footage on her camera, and it showed something unbelievable to her. It showed the sweet garden cat being the aggressor! She was shocked, and she didn't know what to do. She decided to take it up with Reddit to see what others had to say about it, and she was pleasantly surprised. Everyone in the comments pacified her that it's actually normal behavior for cats to be territorial of their home. So she realized that the kitty just calls her garden home, and now she's even considering making her hers. Read the full story below and enjoy it! 

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    Cheezburger Image 10637586688
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    Cheezburger Image 10637586176
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    A few weeks ago, a stray tabby decided my garden was hers.
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    She started sleeping in my garden, greeting me whenever I came outside, and demanding
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    attention. She was incredibly friendly from the start. She'd rub against my legs, headbutt me,
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    and happily accept pets from everyone in my family.
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    She's so tame that I can literally take her on little walks around the neighborhood without a harness
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    or treats. I just call her name or tap the door handle, and she
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    comes trotting over. We do a short 5-10 minute walk almost every day.
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    The weird thing was that she always seemed nervous around other cats.
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    Whenever we ran into one, she'd hang back or try to avoid them. Meanwhile, the other cats would
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    hiss at her, posture aggressively, and occasionally try to start something. More than once, I
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    stepped in to shoo them away because I felt bad for her.
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    She also had scars on her face when she first appeared, which seemed to support the theory
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    that she was getting picked on. She never showed aggression toward anything. Not birds, not
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    people, not other animals. So naturally, I concluded that she was a gentle soul being bu ed by the local cat population.
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    I was wrong. Very wrong.
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    Last night I checked our security camera footage and discovered
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    that my sweet little stray has apparently been living a double life.
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    The footage showed three separate cats walking down the street in front of my house.
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    Each time, she marched out, squared up to them, growled, hissed, and immediately chose
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    vic.ce. One poor young cat was literally just passing through when she launched herself at him like a furry missile.
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    No warning, no hesitation, no diplomacy. Pure hatred and vivience.
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    And she won every fight. Every single one.
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    So now I'm sitting here watching video evidence that this cat is basically the neighborhood threat while she's rubbing against my leg and looking up at me with the most innocent face imaginable.
    via u/Currentcorn

  • It's so wholesome to see that everyone encouraged her to adopt instead of being shocked or upset at the cat. It's actually sweet that the cat chose her, so maybe this piece belongs in cat distribution system instead!

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