Pumpkin the tortie keeps coming back to a family’s yard until the kids fall in love with her and the mom, who isn’t a cat person, can’t say no.

Ayala Sorotsky • Writer and Editor

Nov 11, 2026 4:45 PM EST

Just as any "I'm not a cat person" with kids who love cats - this one mom was also caught in the net of loving a cat who converted her.

As cat people, it's really hard for us to imagine what it's like not to love cats. People who are self-proclaimed "not a cat person" are an enigma in an actual cat person's eyes. And I get it - I have no clue how a person can look at the cat, their floofy fur, their tiny face, the way to do an "ooooh, big stretch", and their soft meows and just go, "nah, I don't like this creature". Like, how? I can't even imagine.

But cats are pretty darn good at covering these people themselves. They don't need our help. They just show up, or in this case - the non-cat person raises very cat-loving kids, who fall in love with a yard stray they name Pumpkin. And Pumpkin wouldn't even be the first one - I recently wrote about another mom turning into a cat person because her daughter was the one who originally wanted a cat. It's just another piece of proof that cats have their own magic, and they bewitch every person they meet, one by one. No one is safe from their cuteness.

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POV: YOU'RE NOT A CAT PERSON, BUT THIS IS YOUR KIDS WITH THE STRAY THAT WON'T LEAVE YOUR YARD.

THEY NAMED HER PUMPKIN BECAUSE OF HER COLOR. IT JUST HAPPENS TO BE OCTOBER, TOO.

ALL SHE TRES IS CUDDLE-SHES THE SWEETEST CAT.

She had a reflective collar on, but no name tag. So I called Animal Services and they checked her for a chip - she doesn't have one. They said sometimes people will put reflective collars on stray cats so they don't get hit by cars. I checked all the missing pet sites and I don't see her anywhere so I guess it was meant to be.

case_mmmmm I hate cats. I had a neighbor who was feeding his cat with cheap cat food and I refused to accept that. I took the cat. And she was pre_nant. I am now the proud owner of a female gingy and her two daughters who are torties. I would dle for them

This comment just goes to show how many people don't know they are cat people. They just need to meet the cat who enters their heart. It's hard not to love cats, because they are a monolith of some sort - cute, cuddly, and very loving. Some people just have the wrong idea about them. It's mostly because people don't know how to approach cats - they come to them with extra enthusiasm and roughhousing intentions, like dogs. But cats aren't dogs, so if you come at them like that - they'll make sure to let you know this is not wanted. So people just take it as an assumption that cats aren't nice - which couldn't be more further from the truth.

wooldridge288 Once you've been chosen, doesn't take long. Especially if they go the 'Kid route' ! Smart kitty D

momodog001 I think at one time maybe she had a home with children, she is so very relaxed and loving with yours. If she was someone's lost girl they'd 100% be putting up flyers and posting on social media. I think somehow she ended up alone and then she found you x

msjody70 I ended up with one that had a collar too. Posted flyers, called vets offices, etc. No one claimed her. She became ours.

As in many other cases, cats sometimes get abandoned by the families who promised to give them a forever home. It's cruel, borderline evil. When you adopt a cat, you make a lifelong commitment. But when people don't understand that fully - you end up with extra-friendly cats on the streets. It's sad, but at least Pumpkin here made it to a home with a loving family, even “converting” the mom to be a cat person herself.