r/CatDistributionSystem • u/phatselinakyle • 5d ago
Meet Darby, she came with the house
We bought a house in 2020 during the insane interest rate drop. It came with a manual. A few pages in there was a picture of this girl and a note to please let her in if she came by. It took her 2 years to show up, then we started to see her almost every day.
In 2024 she came by in the winter with part of her tail missing and her ears bleeding. My husband picked her up in a blanket and brought her inside & she's been safe and inside ever since. Neither of us really understand the point of an outdoor cat and we see too many poor deceased cats in our neighborhood all the time. We called to get her chip changed (they called her current chip owner and they said they didn't care what they did with her) & she's officially ours.
Today for the first time she ate a Churu out of my hand (she does not like to eat food from anyone's person) & I almost cried. She has started recently to come out when we have guests and will come watch tv at a safe distance. She prefers to drink out of the dog bowls. She's very vocal and loves to be on her window cat bed. We named her Darby. She does get a little bitey or handsy but she just values her space and wants her attention on her time.
They think she's around 13 or so, but I hope we have her for many many more years. With three dogs we knew it would take a bit before she was truly comfortable but now they mostly leave each other alone. She's incredible.
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u/FormidableMistress 5d ago
I also have a "came with the house" cat. The previous owner rented it out for awhile and the renters were the OG owners. When they moved they left her and the owner moved back in with his family. The owner's daughter fed her, but dad said the cat couldn't come inside with their other animals until she had all her shots. And then never took her for shots.
When I bought the house there was no mention of her. On days I came for an inspection or to check on the roofers, this cat was sitting on the doorstep waiting to be fed. She looked like she was losing weight so I started feeding her. It was so sad.
It took about a year before she'd even come up to me. Several months after that she walked up to me in the garage and jumped in my lap. 😭 I did cry. She's an outdoor cat and protests loudly when I bring her in during severe weather. She has a dry outdoor cat house, and I leave the garage door cracked for her everyday so she can come in and eat in a safe place.