After years of living as a stray cat, this adorable black kitty ran into a man who changed his life.

A Reddit user, Mykmyk, shared a story of how his path led him to this stray cat named Joe and how their lives turned around. 

“Meet Joe, a retired man-about-town and a former king of the sewers.”

Joe was a stray cat for most of his life, but everything started to change when he showed up around Mykmyk’s house. He would hang out in the yard, sleep on the porch at night, and keep his new human friend company when outside.

Joe would sometimes disappear for a few days, but he would always return to his new human friend and his family. Mykmyk recalls how Joe would follow him and his family everywhere around:

“Most mornings, he would walk with me and the kids to the school bus stop, waiting with us, then following me back home.”

It was as though Joe chose this family and wished to be a part of it. Little by little, the whole family became more attached to Joe, especially Mykmyk. 

Slowly but surely, Joe found a way not only to this family’s hearts but also the one that leads into their home, as Mykmyk describes:

“When it got cold outside, we put a shelter on the porch for him. I’d warm towels in the dryer and put them in his house before going to sleep, but he became very congested and winter grew colder, so we let him stay overnight inside.”

But then, something started to really worry the family. The time between Joe’s roaming and returning home got longer. One day, he left and didn’t return for weeks, leaving his human friends desperate.

“I’d walk around the neighborhood calling for him and for weeks I would go outside and call him but still no Joe. We thought the worst. It seems like he had been missing forever, but I kept calling for him often.”

Already hopeless, Mykmyk called Joe one last time, and he finally showed up, out of nowhere. The whole family was happy to see Joe, but upon closer inspection, Joe’s overall condition started to worry them. Mykmyk recalled:

“He looked like he had been in a fight, soaked, covered in mud, and was looking really rough. We took him to the vet, they loved him, and he healed up from his final outside adventure quite quickly.”

From that moment, the whole family made an important decision – to officially adopt Joe as an indoor cat and provide him with a safe and happy life. Mykmyk explained:

“He was tough as nails years ago, as a stray… I hated that such a good cat had such a rough life and always worried. There was no way we were going to put him back out. He seemed fearless, but age was catching up to him, and he needed to settle into a home.”

Now, Joe is neutered, happy, and strictly an indoor cat in his forever home. And, based on the photos throughout the article, I think there’s no place he’d rather be!

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