When an overjoyed rescuer finally finds the owners of a lost orange cat, they say that they were "just trying to get rid of it"; the baffled rescuer decides the friendly ginger doesn't deserve this treatment and adopts him right then and there

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Jul 15, 2026 4:45 PM EDT

You would think that finding the owners of a lost cat would be a good thing…

One of every cat owner's worst nightmares is their cat running away. I will never forget the time it happened with my cat. She was gone for 24 hours after falling out of the first-floor window before coming back to me. And those 24 hours were the worst 24 hours of my life. I thought the worst. I bawled my eyes out. I thought she was gone for good. And then she came back to me, and I will never forget carrying her dirty and hungry little self back home. Reuniting with my cat was the greatest feeling. I couldn't even describe the relief, the gratitude, the pure joy that I felt. A nightmare was suddenly over. And I always imagined that every cat owner who lost their cat in a similar way would feel the same way. But apparently not.

We have said it before, but it deserves repeating: some people do not deserve cats. If you feel anything other than dread and terror when your cat disappears, then you might be one of them. When I found today's story on r/cats, I was simply shocked reading it. If I had been in this rescuer's position, finally finding the owners of this lost cat, I would have been overjoyed too. Awaiting the reunion, wanting to see that relief and gratitude and joy on the faces of the cat owners - that's all I would have been doing. And then to get there, to tell them that I found their cat, and to hear that not only did they not care that their cat was lost but that they were trying to get rid of it… Hearing that would have crushed my faith in humanity entirely. Oh, and I would have done the same thing they did. I would have adopted the cat.

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via conorrhea
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There are so many better ways to “get rid” of a cat if you don't want it anymore. Finding it a new home, taking it to a shelter, taking it to a vet, anything is better than dumping a house cat who doesn't know any better on the street to survive on its own. His running up to someone and instantly purring just shows that he needs a human, that humans taking care of him is the only thing he knows.
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via Unsplash / Kelsey James - livelovekelsey

Orange cat looking surprised and scared.
_{The adorable cat in the picture is a model.}
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via Unsplash / Robert Larsson

Tiny and cute orange kitten lying on a fluffy carpet.
_{The kitten is a meowdel.}
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via Unsplash / Sam Chang - answer603

Orange cat with brown eyes and large ears looking directly into the camera.
_{The purrfect ginger in the photo is a model.}
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