A couple who spent quality time with their cat watching TV in front of the beautifully decorated Christmas tree told Newsweek of their shock when they finally noticed it wasn't their pet at all.
Jacqueline, aged 47 and from Kansas, lives on a twenty-acre farm with her husband and their multiple animals, but recently realized they had gained an extra one out of nowhere.
"We just put the tree up and sat down to relax for a few minutes when I looked over and noticed that the cat by the tree was the neighbor's cat—not one of ours," she said.
Jacqueline took to her TikTok account @lotfwtloml—which she explained stands for "life on the farm with the love of my life"—on December 15, where she shared a clip that has so far been viewed over half a million times.
It features a black-and-white cat sitting in front of their sparkling Christmas tree, looking the picture of relaxation, and taking no notice of Jaqueline, who is laughing heartily as she films.
The reason for this laughter is because, as she wrote across the video: "We just noticed the cat in front of the Christmas tree isn't ours."
And she added in a caption: "How did he even get in?"
Jacqueline, who gave her first name only, told Newsweek they know the cat well: "My husband and I call him Spotfface, but his name is Socks," she said, and added he regularly comes on to their property as he "loves our dogs."
And the reason it took them so long to notice the neighbor's cat was relaxing like a king in their own sitting room was because they have two cats of their own—rag doll Ollie and black and white cat, Archer.
"Spotface and Archer are similar looking black-and-white cats," she explained.
The neighbor's unannounced visit, and Jacqueline's breathless laughter, proved popular on TikTok, racking up over 25,000 likes and hundreds of comments.
One wrote the video "had me laughing hard," as another joked the cat was thinking: "Blend in, act normal and possibly no one will notice."
"I guess you have a new cat," another said. "He's made himself at home, Would be heartless to kick him out."
Jacqueline did not keep the cat, who has his own family and simply likes coming for visits to hang out with the neighbor dogs and cats.
But, she told Newsweek, she and her husband "had a good laugh," and fed him before he went home again.
A 2020 study by the Zoological Society of London found that the average outdoor domestic cat usually roams within an area of about 0.01 square miles.
This can change with the cat's age, sex and health, along with whether a male cat is neutered, according to Cats.com.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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