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One warm November day, we drove up to our beach house and were greeted by an unknown longhaired tortie. She really wanted to talk to us, to come inside, and to be petted.

She kept asking to come in all day and all night, so we emailed the neighborhood list to see to whom she belonged. We got answers, all negative.

Around midday, a neighbor knocked and explained that she'd found the cat abandoned in another neighborhood and brought her home because her dog was dying, but the dog recovered and the cat was afraid to stay with him. She had run away into the woods and another neighbor had been feeding her.

The cat kept following us, asking to come in, and clearly explaining that she was an inside cat who by some error had been left outside. She sat on the porch, the dock, the sofa, and finally in the bed. I could tell she wasn't in the best of health.

Hardening our hearts, we left her there and drove back to the city, but we called the neighbor who'd brought her to the beach neighborhood. The neighbor said she couldn't keep the cat but offered to let the cat stay in our house and she'd feed her! Since it's a rental house, that wasn't a likely arrangement. With a little nudging, my husband agreed to drive back, pick her up, and bring her back to our house in the city.

I took her straight to the vet, who said she had horribly infected teeth, most of which needed to be pulled. When I took her home, after an hour or so, I couldn't find her. We were convinced she'd slipped out and run away, and we spent the evening searching the neighborhood. About 5 a.m., she came stumbling out of the back of the closet and climbed into bed.

She's pretty much been there for 10 years (with occasional forays to the food dish and backyard, and lots of time in laps watching TV).

Story submitted by an anonymous user from Columbia, South Carolina.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!