After my cat brought home puppies from who knows where, a policeman knocked on the door. His words made my heart stop…
That evening began quietly. I was folding laundry when suddenly Lili’s voice rang out from the living room:
— Mom! She has something in her mouth again!
— Who? — I froze mid-step.
— Marsa! A puppy! Another one!
I ran to the window and couldn’t believe my eyes: my tabby cat was walking across the yard, carrying a tiny black bundle in her teeth. In the corner of the room, in a woven basket, already lay four just like it — tiny, their eyes tightly shut, with warm, velvety sides.
Marsa carefully placed the new one next to them, gently licked it, and curled herself around them as if protecting them from the whole world.
I couldn’t understand: where was she finding these puppies? And why was she bringing them one by one?
During the day, there was a loud knock at the door — so loud that the glass in the frame rattled.
I froze, and Lili clung to my hand as if sensing something bad.
I opened the door — there stood a policeman and Mrs. Miller, our neighbor, known for noticing everything and everyone. Her face was darker than a storm cloud.
— Do you have a cat? — the officer asked without wasting time on greetings.
— Yes… — I nodded cautiously. — What happened?
He held my gaze for a long moment, studying me, then quietly said:
— In that case… you’d better sit down.
I didn’t yet know what I was about to hear, but a cold shiver ran down my spine, and my heart skipped a beat.
I sat down mechanically on the edge of the sofa, feeling the cold mug of tea chilling my fingers.
Lili pressed close to me, and Marsa, as if she understood the conversation was about her, slowly came out of the kitchen and sat directly in front of the policeman, staring at him with her green, unblinking eyes.
— This morning — he began — a… deserted doghouse was found in the neighboring yard. The puppies were gone.
— And?… — my voice trembled betraying me.
— The owner claims she saw your cat carrying them away one by one — he paused, as if choosing his words.
The neighbor sighed and, lowering her eyes, said:
— Those puppies… are mine. Their mother died this morning. And your Marsa…
I looked in confusion at my cat, who at that moment was softly purring and holding the puppies in her paws.
— I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, she must have behaved that way because we had found other owners for the puppies, but she still needed to feel like a mother. I’ll bring them back right now.
The neighbor stood for a moment, looking at the peaceful scene — Marsa tenderly licking and mothering the puppies — and added:
— Let them stay with you. I think… it’s better for everyone.
I nodded, and Marsa, as if understanding every word, pressed her new little ones even closer to her.
The owner of an adventurous cat who regularly takes trips around the neighborhood was shocked when police showed up at her door with her pet in tow.
And even stranger was later being tagged in a post on Facebook that showed her cat in the back of a police car.
Carly Thomson, 32, is the owner of Maine Coon cat, Cleo, who has become a bit of a local celebrity in her hometown of Halstead, England, with Thomson telling Newsweek
she’s the “most famous cat.”
Cleo even has a dedicated Facebook page, Adventures of Cleo, where locals share photos from when they’ve seen the long-haired cat out and about.
On February 10, the local cops got involved. Essex Police, Braintree District, took Cleo for a ride in their police car and brought her home to Thomson’s house.
They shared a photo of Cleo to their page, saying their patrol “took an unexpected turn yesterday when the famous Cleo the Cat from Halstead decided to jump into our police car to escape the rain.”
Sharing a photo of Cleo making herself at home in the back seat of the squad car, they wrote the pet was “sharpening her claws on the seats, grooming herself on the parcel shelf, and covering our officers in fluff while making biscuits on their laps.”
They added: “It looks like Cleo enjoyed her little adventure with us, and we were more than happy to have her company!”
It had a big reaction on Facebook, racking up over 9,000 likes as one user wrote: “These are the police posts I like to see,” and another called it “community policing at its best.”
One aptly labeled it “paw patrol,” while another joked: “It’s Cleo’s police car, clearly. You’re just borrowing it!”
Thomson herself commented too, writing: “Oh Cleo. This is my cat, thank you for bringing her home. She was in all night and slept like a baby and is back out on her adventures this morning!”
Thomson told Newsweek she was shocked when she received a knock on the door from police.
“They obviously scanned her microchip and actually brought her home,” she said. “I thought she was hurt. I thought something had happened. You don’t get the police bringing cats home because they jumped in their car!
“It was a very surreal moment for me. I was quite taken aback by it—I thought I was in trouble.”
Wild as the interaction was, Thomson “thought that was it,” and Cleo, who spends her time both inside the home and outdoors, “stayed in all night and slept in my daughter’s bed.”
“Until the next day, when I saw a Facebook post someone had tagged me in.”
In the UK, it’s common for cats to be allowed to roam outside. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) does not recommend keeping a cat that is used to going outdoors as an indoor-only cat, except for health reasons.
In contrast, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) urges owners to keep their cats indoors, due to the risks outside.
Thomson said: “Obviously everyone in Halstead knows me and knows Cleo is my cat. I’m even thinking of writing a children’s book about Cleo, because it’s blown up so much.
“It’s madness, my phone is blowing up. I was on the radio, it’s gone mad! She’s a very famous cat,” she said.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Our own Dara Demi, Chief Communications Officer and a passionate advocate for pet adoption, is the mastermind behind the communications team and strategy at Wake County. At home, her two beloved cats, adopted from the Wake County Animal Center, are experts in their own feline “communiCATion” expressing their love and needs through every purr, meow and gentle paw.
The first time Dara and her family visited the Wake County Animal Center was in 2017, nearly a year after the heartbreaking loss of their tuxedo cat, Stella, who had been with them for 17 years and passed away on Christmas Eve. This was especially difficult for Dara’s twin daughters Avery and Alexa, who were just seven years old at the time. After some time to grieve they decided to adopt new cats from the Animal Center.
“As a special birthday gift, we let each girl pick out a kitten from the Wake County Animal Center. Avery was drawn to our all-black cat, Starry Night or ‘Star’ for short. Alexa fell in love with our grey tabby Smarty Pants, who was a foster kitty,” said Dara.
The selection process was nothing short of magical. Star went to the front of her cage at the Animal Center and pawed at Avery, as if saying, “I choose you.” One of the shelter staff members took Star out and let Avery hold her. Avery was elated and couldn’t wait to bring Star home. Alexa, on the other hand, found her kitty from the Center’s online adoption gallery. After visiting Smarty Pants at a foster home, Alexa fell in love with the kitten’s playful and energetic personality.
For Dara and her husband Geof Levine, adopting their cats wasn’t just about filling the void left by Stella; it was also a teachable moment for their daughters. They wanted to instill the importance of adopting rather than shopping for pets, a value that Dara has long supported through her work with Wake County, and she knew there was no better place to adopt.
Although Star and Smarty Pants had distinct personalities, they both quickly filled the Levine household with joy. Smarty Pants, living up to her name, quickly proved to be the smart one, using her cleverness to charm her way into Dara’s lap. Star, with her less-than-bright but lovable ways, became the cuddle queen of the family, always ready for a snuggle.
“Unlike most cats, Smarty Pants is extremely needy. As soon as I come home from work, she’s climbing up my leg, demanding to be petted. Star will paw at the blankets covering my husband at night to make him lift out his arm to pet her,” said Dara.
Cats have proven to be the perfect fit for the Levine family’s on-the-go lifestyle. They are easy to care for, requiring just food, water, a clean litter box and, of course, a lot of love. There’s no need to buy fancy toys, as the cats are happy playing with hair ties, milk jug caps and cardboard boxes. They’re also independent enough to be left alone for the day while Dara and Geof are at work.
Pet ownership, however, comes with its own challenges. Daily hairballs from Smarty Pants, scratched-up furniture and expensive emergency vet bills for Star are just a few of the difficulties Dara and Geof have faced. But every time Star curls up on Dara’s lap or Smarty Pants climbs onto her leg demanding attention, those difficulties fade into the background.
Dara’s advice to pet owners is to pay attention to their animals’ cues. When their cats knock over water bottles or paw at blankets, they’re simply communicating their needs.
“They can’t tell us in words, so they tell us by meowing and acting out,” she said.
Dara and Geof’s house has always been a bit of a zoo, especially during the pandemic, when their two cats were joined by a guinea pig and a hamster. They even took the cats on hikes using a cat backpack! The cats often sit in the windows above the garage or by the front door, waiting for the family to come home. When they do, the cats greet them with cries and rubs, demanding affection.
“There’s no better therapy after a long, stressful day than to sit on the couch with a thick blanket and be surrounded by snuggling, sleeping and sometimes snoring cats. They’re warm and soft and they live for your attention and affection,” said Dara.
Starry Night and Smarty Pants, two kittens from the Wake County Animal Center, continue to brighten the Levine family with every purr, meow and snuggle. Adopting pets from the Wake County Animal Center is more than just a kind gesture; it’s a way to create a lifetime of memories with animals who need love the most.