“It was absolutely love at first sight.”
One summer afternoon, Courtney Bailey opened her front door to collect the mail and was met by a surprise: a black-and-white cat she’d never seen before, staring right at her. Before she could say much, the confident feline strutted inside like he owned the place — straight to the litter box — and used it as if he’d lived there for years.
“I was in shock,” Bailey told The Dodo. “He just waltzed in. I honestly didn’t know what to do — put him back outside?”
Bailey and her partner decided to keep the mystery cat in their garage temporarily while they searched for his family. Strays had visited before, but none had this much personality — or nerve. Still, they were convinced he must belong to someone.
But they didn’t yet realize that this uninvited guest was about to change their lives.
When they checked on him later, the cat was curled up comfortably in one of their old cat beds, fully at ease.
“He’d completely settled in,” Bailey said. “It was like he’d decided this was home.”
Curious to see how he’d interact with their resident cats, they brought him inside. There was Saint Dikolas, a high-energy troublemaker; his gentle, oversized brother Tater Swift; and their senior cat, Reese’s Pieces — the moody queen of the house.
To Bailey’s surprise, Dikolas and Reese simply observed the newcomer with mild interest before going about their day.
“It was like he was instantly accepted,” she said. “No drama, no growling.”
But something more profound was happening between the new cat and Tater.
“Tater and this cat looked at each other once and that was it,” Bailey said. “He immediately latched onto Tater — followed him everywhere, totally enamored.”
The new cat, soon named Pongo, began gently playing with Tater, nuzzling up to him, and sleeping curled around him. Tater, who had always longed for affection from his aloof brother, finally had the connection he’d been missing.
“It was as if Pongo had been made for Tater,” Bailey said.
As the bond between the two deepened, Bailey and her partner continued their search for Pongo’s possible family. A vet estimated he was about five months old, and they checked for a microchip, posted flyers, and shared his photo in local Facebook groups — but no one came forward.
Meanwhile, Tater and Pongo had developed a daily routine of cuddles, play sessions, and what Bailey affectionately called “jetpack mode” — when Pongo would climb on top of Tater and ride him like a tiny backpack.
“Sometimes Tater would squeeze into a box, and Pongo would try to cram himself in too,” Bailey said. “It was adorable chaos.”
Weeks passed, and an adoption inquiry came in for Pongo. But the thought of splitting him from Tater was unbearable.
“They’re constantly wrapped around each other,” Bailey said. “They have this little love bubble, and everyone else is just watching from the outside.”
That’s when Bailey and her partner realized Pongo wasn’t just a visitor. He was home.
“We never planned on adding another cat,” she said. “But Pongo made that decision for us. He chose us — and Tater.”
Now, a year after that fateful doorstep encounter, Pongo and Tater remain as inseparable as ever.
“It was truly love at first sight,” Bailey said. “From that moment on, they’ve never let go of each other.”