Tigger, a cat in Tampa, Florida, was the subject of an intense investigation Saturday, according to his owner.
"Children are so strange i just had seven (7) young boys on my front porch demanding to see my cat. they had a leader. i opened the door and before i could greet them he said 'where's your cat. i know he's in there we see him in the windows all and he's real fat.' idk what to do here," wrote Ontario Chiorazzi, an 18-year-old creative writing student at the University of Tampa who goes by Ari.
children are so strange i just had seven (7) young boys on my front porch demanding to see my cat. they had a leader. i opened the door and before i could greet them he said “where’s your cat. i know he’s in there we see him in the windows and he’s real fat.” idk what to do here
Chiorazzi, who was babysitting her brother at the time, told BuzzFeed News the leader of the pack of seven was roughly 10 years old, and the others were his age or younger.
But, she said, the boys' investigation didn't lead them to Tigger.
"Tigger was hiding when they came," she said. "He gets into every crevice in the house. They asked me to drag him outside, and I said I wouldn’t do that, so they were a bit disappointed."
The boys waited for the cat, but to no avail.
"The next time I saw him a couple hours later, he was just napping," Chiorazzi said.
Tigger used to be an outdoor cat. But after he showed up several times on the family's front porch, she asked her mom if they could keep him, and they eventually adopted him about a year ago. Tigger still maintains the spirit of an outdoor cat, Chiorazzi said, even though he lives in a home and has gained a lot of weight.
"He'll still go outside and do his business and roll around in the dirt and play with people," she told BuzzFeed News.
After the boys left, Chiorazzi shared the story of their investigation.
As of Monday afternoon, her original tweet had racked up 44,000 retweets and 240,000 likes. And many people said they too wanted to see Tigger.
"Disregard the people saying show them the cat show US the cat," user @SandyMcBean14 replied.
So Chiorazzi did. And Tigger is very cute.
@SandyMcBean
Other people followed suit with their own cats, and wow.
@92xz @MollyPolatty @nightfiIm @SandyMcBean Say hi to Oliver!
@nightfiIm @SandyMcBean My grandma's cat gave birth to four little fluffballs a few weeks ago!
@nightfiIm @SandyMcBean This is Scully. He's a lil photogenic
@nightfiIm Replying with pics of our cats? I’m ON IT This is Paris, she’s an old lady, and I love her dearly
And videos!
@nightfiIm @SandyMcBean little muffin
One person shared a picture of their "cat" in the snow. (It was a dog.)
@nightfiIm @daltonkopp28 @pixyrue this is my.... "Cat"
Others talked about beloved community cats, like one that lived in an antique shop.
@nightfiIm An antique shop here has a shop cat. Husband & I slow down like stalkers when we drive by to check for him in the window. No cat = aww no kitty! Cat = OMG HI KITTY. Poor cat is like 🙄
There's also Stubbs, the former honorary mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, and Mittens, a cat who has a strong community following in Wellington, New Zealand.
Chiorazzi said her favorite part of the responses were two people named Elizabeth who discovered they both had cats named Milo.
@elizabeth_mae__ @nightfiIm Ok what my name is Elizabeth and I have a cat Milo too!!!!!
And a Philadelphia animal shelter helping a tabby cat named Boots find a home.
@nightfiIm @daltonkopp28 @pixyrue This handsome guy is Boots - he's a big fluffy cuddlebug who likes kids and is hanging out here at the shelter waiting for a home. (Adopt! https://t.co/kpaHeyEeqx) https://t.co/zcMOgtG1zC
"The responses to the tweet were the most positive internet experience I've ever had," Chiorazzi said.
"I usually mute tweets that blow up," she added. "But this time I want to see everyone's cats."