How We Accidentally Became a Three-Cat Family and Never Looked Back!

Yuliza's household didn't set out to become a three-cat family, but that's exactly what happened—one furry addition at a time.

It started with Mini. "My cousin brought her as a gift to me," Yuliza recalls. The tiny, month-old kitten arrived first, claiming her territory and her humans. 

About a month later, Queso joined the family, a gift from a family friend whose cat had recently had kittens. He was the same age as Mini when she'd arrived, small and curious, ready to explore his new home.

For a while, it was just the two of them—Mini and Queso—establishing their routines and their favorite spots around the house. But then, last October, an unexpected visitor would change the dynamic entirely.

Yuliza and her family had spotted the cat wandering around the neighborhood for a few days. They didn't know his story—was he new to the area? Did he belong to someone?

The mystery was solved one evening when they offered him some food. "A couple hours later, one of our neighbors brought him to our door because he looked exactly like Mini and she thought it was actually our cat," Yuliza remembers.

Not knowing who he belonged to, the family took him in for the night. The next morning, they brought him to the vet to check for a microchip, but there was none.

Yuliza spent hours walking around the neighborhood, knocking on doors and asking if anyone had lost a cat. No one claimed him. The decision was made: he would stay. They named him Teddy.

The integration wasn't smooth at first. "Neither Mini nor Queso actually got along with Teddy. They both didn't like him. They were very territorial and they would hiss at him," Yuliza explains. 

Teddy, overwhelmed by the hostile reception, wouldn't fight back. "He would just lower his ears and kind of hide in the corner because everything was new to him."

But slowly, something shifted. As days turned into weeks, Mini and Queso began to accept that this newcomer was here to stay. "They started to see that he was now becoming a part of the family, so they slowly warmed up to him," Yuliza says. 

It took about two to three weeks, but eventually, the hissing stopped. Now, all three play together, meow in chorus when asking for food, and have fully integrated into one chaotic, loving cat family.

Each cat has carved out their own special relationship within the household. Mini, it turns out, is entirely her mother's cat. From the very beginning, they clicked in a way that surprised everyone. 

"Mini seemed to listen to her and understand her when she was talking to her," Yuliza observes. The cat is remarkably expressive, meowing in response to conversation, announcing when she wants to go outside, and demanding food with vocal precision.

But what makes their bond truly special is Mini's selective obedience. "Whenever she's being mischievous or rebellious or doing something that she isn't supposed to, like getting on top of the table or knocking something off, she won't listen to anybody else but my mom," Yuliza explains.

Her mother doesn't even need to speak—Mini knows the moment she walks into a room that she's been caught. "She'll immediately get off the table or get off the chair or stop chewing whatever she's chewing."

Yuliza's mother loves this dynamic. "It's kind of like having another kid," Yuliza says. "She talks to Mini and reprimands her just as she would to us when we were younger."

Queso, meanwhile, has claimed Yuliza's father as his person. He follows him everywhere, sleeps beside him on the couch or bed, and while less expressive than Mini, he has his moments. 

"He'll meow a lot to my dad when they're both lying on the bed so that way my dad can pet him. He loves being petted by my dad," Yuliza says. Quiet and introverted, Queso prefers his own space but is playful when the mood strikes. He's also developed a peculiar loyalty to Yuliza herself—but only for one specific task.

When it's time to come inside after a day of outdoor play, he'll only respond to her voice. "Sometimes when I'm out of town or away from home, my parents will call me and put me on speaker and ask me to yell his name and ask him to come in, and he will come in."

Teddy, the youngest at around a year old, hasn't quite found his person yet, though like Mini, he seems to listen best to Yuliza's mother. He's still very much a kitten—curious, playful, and surprisingly strong for his age. 

His size initially fooled the family into thinking he was older. His past as a likely stray has left its mark: he's ravenously hungry, constantly prowling the kitchen for something to nibble on.

"We think that it may have been because he was a stray cat and he had to hunt for his own food," Yuliza explains. "Even though he has his bowl of food, bowl of water, and we give him treats and canned food, he still goes around the kitchen trying to just take a bite out of everything."

Life with three cats is, in Yuliza's words, "funny but very tedious and exhausting at times."

There are moments when all three get the zoomies simultaneously, racing from wall to wall, couch to table, knocking things over and wrestling in the living room. "They'll make a whole mess that it looks like kids live here," she laughs.

Then there are the suspiciously quiet moments—either naptime or a sign that they're plotting mischief. Yuliza wishes she had cameras throughout the house to capture their antics, the moments her family won't believe actually happened.

But despite the chaos, the cats have woven themselves into the fabric of family life. They participate in holidays, dressed up for Halloween and Easter. They join in the family tradition of singing "Happy Birthday" each morning when someone celebrates another year.

Mini, Queso, and Teddy aren't just pets—they're family members with distinct personalities, quirks, and an undeniable place in Yuliza's heart.

"We really love each of our cats," Yuliza reflects. "They have truly just become a part of our family and a part of our routine."

Take a look at this hilarious feline trio in the video below:

A big thank you to Yuliza for sharing her story with us.

You can see more of this delightful family on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube

Related story: Four-Legged Neighbors Team Up For Cat and Dog Gang – The Brotherhood Of Paws!

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