Wild seal breaks into New Zealand home, spooks their cat Coco, then chills on the couch like part of the family: 'Coco refused to come home until the intruder was gone'

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Sep 10, 2026 6:15 AM EDT

Coco was not a fan of the wet intruder that invaded her home and took her favorite spot on the couch. Ironically enough, it was probably Coco who showed "Oscar" (the seal intruder in question) how to get in by following her through the cat doors and straight into the living room!

It's funny to me that cats have a reputation for being cold and unfriendly, because in my expurrience, cats are some of the friendliest creatures around. They love to "adopt" other animals as their kittens, and make friends with wild animals more often than not. Like, when this orange cat became friends with a wild deer, or when this adult mama cat adopted a puppy as her own. Maybe the cats don't like making friends because it ruins their street cred, but friends seem to find them whether they like it or not. I think they might even give capybaras a run for their money when it comes to the number of friends they make per lifetime.

Today's story is no exception. Originally covered by The Guardian, a global news organization that delivers "fearless, investigative journalism," this story is the purrfect example of a cat not intending to make friends, but a friend being made nevertheless. A wild seal was roaming around a New Zealand neighborhood, where it ran into Coco, a marine biologist's cat who was lounging comfortably in the backyard. The seal took interest in Coco (Coco did not take interest in the seal), attempted to defend her hoomans' home from this curious creature, then promptly retreated into the living room via two cat doors.

Much to Coco's dismay, the seal followed Coco through the cat doors and promptly took her favorite spot on the couch. Her hoomans arrived back home and found Coco at their neighbor's house, and the seal wandering around their own home. They named him Oscar, and eventually contacted wildlife authorities to return Oscar to where he belongs.

Just in case you're wondering, no, Coco still hasn't forgiven Oscar for spooking her. Her hoomans still laugh about it to this day, and she will exact her revenge for this in due time.

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"Oscar" the seal

* 18h Of all the houses in New Zealand a seal could break into, it chose the one belonging to a marine biologist, on the one morning he was not home.

Apparently, Oscar likes ping pong

We're sorry that this whole expurrience upset Coco so much, but we can't help but laugh at how ridiculous this story is. Can you imagine coming home to find a wild seal on your couch? Thank goodness for smartphones and the internet because if they didn't exist, this would turn into some sort of local legend and no one could ever be certain if it was real or not.

"Which way is out?"

On a Wednesday in August 2022, Jenn Ross left her home in Mount Maunganui for the gym, heard something barking and scurrying in the garage, assumed it was a neighbourhood dog, and drove off. She came back to find a 10-month-old New Zealand fur seal in the hallway. It had let itself in through two cat flaps, one on the garage door and one on the interior door, toured the spare room, and settled onto the couch like it paid rent.

"Are you my mommy now?"

The prime suspect was the family cat, Coco, a territorial black cat known for taking on dogs. Her husband Phil Ross, who studies marine life at the University of Waikato, figured Coco swiped at the seal in the yard, the seal did not back down, and the chase went straight through both cat flaps into the house. Coco fled to the neighbours and refused to come home until the intruder was gone. For days afterward she would not go downstairs, where the seal had been.

Coco, the cat

Coco looks like the kind of cat that gets bothered quite easily. I'm not surprised that a seal in her house would upset her. She probably gets upset when you sneeze too loudly, too.