After her owner passed away, this 17-year-old cat's family decided she was a "burden to everyone" and tossed her onto the streets; luckily, she was rescued and adopted, and during her final 2 years, she was truly loved again

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Aug 19, 2026 3:00 PM EDT

Tossing an elderly cat, who's only ever known the life of an indoor cat, onto the streets is plain evil. 

One of our greatest fears, as cat owners, is our cat crossing the rainbow bridge. It's something that we know will happen one day, and we knew it back when we adopted our cats too. It's inevitable. One day, it will happen. And that's awful. It just is. But at the ned of the day, we know that this is how things are supposed to be. Because the one thing that is worse than us losing our cats is our cats losing their owners. They might be this itty bitty part of our giant and complicated lives, but for them, we are everything. 

Our fully-indoor cats, who we have been with since they were kittens, don't know life without us. They don't know life without blankets and free food to scream for at six in the morning. If I were to put my cat out onto the streets, she wouldn't survive half a day without rushing back to me. And the same is true for Fida, whose story was shared online as a tribute after she crossed the rainbow bridge. 

Fida's life was long and comfortable, but at 17 years of age, her owner passed. The worst thing that can happen, right? Almost. Despite the fact that her previous owner had family - people Fida knew who could take her with them - they all decided that she was a "burden", that she wasn't worth the effort, and they tossed this elderly cat onto the street. We're sure that she would have tried to come back home if she could, but she had no home to go back to. It was a miracle that Fida was found when she was. And an even bigger miracle that she spent her final two years loved and in a home instead of in a cage in a shelter. 

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  • 01

    "They said she was two. They meant two years left."

    C
    via Limp_Regular7247
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    Cheezburger Image 10656343040
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  • 03
    My cat de d. If you look at this story not from the perspective of current events, but from a philosophical standpoint, it's not so sad. She d. d at 19 from adenocarcinoma.
    via Limp_Regular7247

  • It's true, 19 years is a long time for a cat to live. But just like every other cat owner, we know that 19 years with them is not nearly enough. And this person only got 2…

  • 04
    I'm a single young man, and although I love cats, I never planned on getting one. But I periodically went to the cat shelter to help clean cages and feed them, and I fell in love. They told me she was two years old. I thought, wow, I'm going to have to live with her for a long time.
    via Limp_Regular7247
  • 05
    Then, while I was away on a business trip, she developed an eye inftion from the dust in her new, cramped cage. They took her to the vet, and he said that, judging by her teeth, she was about 15 years old.
    via Limp_Regular7247
  • 06
    A week before I was supposed to take her, the cat's former owners showed up at the shelter and said she was 17 years old and had belonged to a relative, and after his d th, she had become a burden to everyone and had been put out on the street.
    via Limp_Regular7247
  • 07
    They said they would now think about whether to take her or not. The shelter said they'd give her to me, and that's how love came to be in my home. She was the most affectionate and grateful creature.
    via Limp_Regular7247
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    She'd jump up to me as soon as I sat on the couch, purring just at the mere fact that I was in the room. She'd patiently wait on weekends until I'd had enough sleep so she could get fresh food, and she always wanted to snuggle into my lap. Because of her age, she slept a lot.
    via Limp_Regular7247
  • 09
    She lived with me for two years, and then faded away. She refused to eat because she was in pain, and the doctors refused to operate because she was old and would have d d from the anesthesia. I'd force pâté down her throat with a syringe so she'd have the strength to climb into my lap again.
    via Limp_Regular7247
  • 10
    But nothing lasts forever. I have her veterinary passport, a certificate of honor from the shelter, a tuft of her fur with her scent, and the memory that after my d th, someone is waiting for me there, on the other side of the rainbow.
    via Limp_Regular7247
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    Cheezburger Image 10656344064
    via Unsplash / Connor O'Reilly

    A calico cat with green eyes lies in sunlight.

    Still frame for contextual reference only.

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    Windevor She is beautiful and does not look old. I think she made a cat lover out of you and maybe one day you'll be ready to open your heart to another. Meanwhile, this sweet girl is indeed waiting for you.
    via Windevor
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    Limp Regular7247 OP I've loved cats since I was a child, ever since | got my first cat. He was a kitten when I first started school, and he d d when I was already an adult and going to work. But that's another story.
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    Cheezburger Image 10656343808
    via Unsplash / Connor O'Reilly

    A calico cat lies on its back in sunlight.

    Representative only.

  • 15
    aniutsa "That's how love came to be in my home". You loved that cat! She loved you! What was her name?
    via aniutsa
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    Limp_Regular7247 OP Fida
    via Limp_Regular7247
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    Cheezburger Image 10656343552
    via Unsplash / Connor O'Reilly

    A calico cat basks in sunlight on a dark background.

    Picture does not depict real parties.

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    hudgepudge Weird way to list ages at a shelter but pretty pragmatic.
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    Limp Regular7247 OP They have a lot of cats, and they really did assess her rather superficially based on her condition and appearance. I saw many cats there that were "two years old." Of course, no one knows their exact age, although it's strange that the local paramedics didn't determine their age by their teeth.
    via Limp_Regular7247
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    NightOwlChest I'm sorry for your loss. You gave her love and care she deserved.
    via NightOwlChest
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    MadCow333 That was really of that family to toss her out, then come to the shelter to do what, if not take her home immediately! I'm glad she ended up with you and had a great home for her last couple of years. She was probably very loved by the man who'd d d.
    via MadCow333

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