Published Feb 23, 2025
In March 2023, Mattea’s family went on vacation to Aruba. When they got to their rental, they went inside only to hear little meows coming from the door. There was a stray cat outside, and she wanted in!
Thus began Aruba the cat’s journey, which would start with stalking her family-to-be and end with an all-expenses-paid trip to Canada!
Meeting for the first time
The stray cat wasn’t shy, and loved to be indoors where she would even sleep in Mattea’s bed with her. When the family went out to enjoy their vacation or spend time at the beach, she would wait at the house for them to return. She even followed them to the pool.
She enjoyed being in the house and never wanted to go back outside. However, the family’s vacation would soon come to an end.
While Mattea was prepared to take this new cat home right away, she was only sixteen, and her parents had other plans. They were worried about taking on another animal when they already had a dog and a cat back home.
Little did they know, this wasn’t the last they’d be seeing of that stray cat!
“Please, mom?”
The following year, the family rented the same place for their annual vacation to Aruba. Low and behold, the same cat was still there!
Mattea knew it was meant to be. After some pestering, she convinced her parents to agree to take the cat home.
But travelling with an animal does require some preparation. Mattea said it was easy to bring her new cat to Canada – the family just needed to bring her to the vet for a health check and a rabies vaccine. While there, they also checked for a microchip to ensure that she didn’t already have an owner waiting for her to come home.
The last step was giving her new cat a name. Mattea chose “Aruba” to honor the place they first met.
A challenging start
Aruba seemed to immediately take to her new home, as though she were always meant to live there. She curled up in Mattea’s bed and slept with her just like she had on vacation.
However, getting along with the other pets was a bit more challenging. While Aruba was used to street dogs, she didn’t like the family’s other cat at first. They would wake the family up at night screaming and fighting!
While they tried to keep the cats separate, they were unsuccessful. Luckily, in just three months, the two learned how to get along with one another. Then, it was like Aruba had always lived with them.
The cats would cuddle and play together, and Aruba and Mattea had a relationship like no other. This was the first time an animal chose Mattea as “their person.”
“She needed me, and I needed her,” she said. Aruba’s adoption taught her that just because something doesn’t happen right away, doesn’t mean you should lose hope.
Mattea describes Aruba’s personality as similar to her own, if she were a cat. She’s clingy, loves cuddles, and is a foodie. She’s also energetic and loves people.
At night, Aruba races up and down the hall. When their human family is away, she convinces the other pets to join her in mischief-making. Once, she and the other cat knocked a bunch of food off of the counters for the dog to eat. Though they didn’t get along immediately, they’re now a team of trouble-makers!
