A year after finally winning over the massive, combative, yet soft-at-heart senior alley cat and adopting him, that ex-feral brings home a new kitten friend to live the good life together: 'Now have two stray cat friends'

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Aug 14, 2026 1:30 PM EDT

Even the "meantest" stray cat is one that can be won over.

Cats are smart creatures, especially unspoiled stray ones. They know what is best for them. There is a reason that cats have domesticated themselves, that we didn't need to be involved in that in any way. They saw us, humans, realized that we have a soft spot for anything small and cute, and they knew that we can provide them with food and adoration without even making them stop doing their itty bitty crimes. And they took that deal. Because who wouldn't? And this self-domestication is not something that only happened in the past. It is something that happens every single day to this day. Every day, out in some corner of the world, a cat walks into a person's house and stays - furrever - leaving the stray life behind.

Of course, some cats make that decision quickly, other cats never make that decision and stay strays forever, and other cats take their time deciding. That's the story of today's cat. And it makes sense. He was the rough man in the neighborhood. He had a reputation as the "mean" cat, the cat who breaks up fights between other cats. It was a cat not to be messed with. But of course, a human saw him, took a liking to him, and tried to gain his favor. Didn't work. Nope. But the cat knew that the option was there, and the day that he got too injured to keep fighting was finally the day that he decided to give humans a chance.

Just like that, everything changed. Another cat being spoiled is a wonderful thing. And now that Shadow knew what it was actually like to live with and be loved by humans… he decided to share that joy with his stray friends.

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"My stray cat friend brought home a stray cat friend."

via LovelandSundown
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via LovelandSundown
Now, that is a good cat right there. He found the jackpot with this human, and instead of keeping it all to himself, he decided to share it with a friend. Beautiful. What a softie.
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via Unsplash / fr0ggy5 - fr0ggy5_

Picture of two black cats on the road, one sitting and one lying down.
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via LovelandSundown
You would need to be able to stand up for yourself if you became besties with someone like Shadow. He respects her, we can tell. There's a mutual, totally adorable, understanding there.
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via Unsplash / Andréas BRUN

Image of two identical black cats outside.
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via pearloonie
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via Unsplash / fr0ggy5 - fr0ggy5_

Picture of two black cats walking on a wooden deck.
_{Stock photography for depiction only.}
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via grandma_got_runover
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via LovelandSundown
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via Unsplash / Stacy - stacysuxx

An image of two black cats sitting on a wooden fence.
_{Not actual story subjects.}
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via NellyNels
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