When Darby's future pawrents bought their home in 2020, they found a picture of her a few pages into the house manual with a simple request: if this kitty ever stops by, please let her inside. Definitely not the usual information you expect to find between instructions about the plumbing and appliances, but arguably much more important.
For two years, Darby was nowhere to be seen. Then one day, the mysterious kitty who apparently came with the property finally showed up. Before long, she was visiting almost every day, like she was checking in to make sure the new homeowners were taking proper care of her house.
Then, during the winter of 2024, Darby arrived in bad shape. Her future cat dad wrapped her in a blanket and brought her inside, and this time she wasn't going back out.
They contacted the owner connected to her microchip and were reportedly told they didn't care what happened to her. That settled it. Darby was officially theirs, and after years of roaming outside, this senior lady finally had a safe indoor home to call her own.
She's taken her sweet time getting comfortable, especially with three dogs sharing the house. Recently, though, she ate a Churu directly from her pawrent's hand for the first time, which nearly brought them to tears. She's also started coming out when guests visit and will even join everyone for TV from a safe distance.
At around 13 years old, Darby knows what she likes. She drinks from the dog bowls, chats with her hoomans, lounges in her window bed, and occasionally gets a little bitey when someone forgets that affection happens strictly on her schedule.
Turns out the best feature of this house was hiding in the fine print all along.