Mom Says She Wants An Orange And White Cat And Then One Randomly Shows Up
Basically magic âš
In January 2020, A'Lana Bates and her dad asked her mom what she wanted for Motherâs Day that year. Her answer? An orange and white cat.
âWe had a stray show up in the early nineties who was an orange and white female we named Carmel, and she was the best cat,â Bates told The Dodo. âA couple years after she died, we adopted an orange and white barn cat we called Spooky, who was simply a joy. He died in 2008 and Mom has been wanting another.â
Everyone of course thought the request was so sweet, and they figured theyâd adopt her a kitten in May. Instead, Tom showed up.

Only a few weeks after Batesâ mom spoke her wish out loud, a stray orange and white cat wandered into the familyâs yard in the middle of a rainstorm. They couldnât believe that the kind of cat theyâd been looking for had suddenly appeared, but at first, he certainly wasnât what anyone had expected.
âAt first he was very rough-and-tumble and only wanted us to bring him food and water on the deck,â Bates said. âSlowly he started coming in the house, but we couldnât touch him.â

It took months and months to gain Tomâs trust, but still, he kept coming back. It was clear he wanted to be a member of the family and knew that he belonged there. It was all just a little new to him. His new family was so patient with him, though. Now, although he still has his quirks, he seems to have accepted that heâs officially a member of the family.
Tom loves to be pet, but if you pet him for a second longer than he wants, he gives a warning bite. Batesâ mom is the only one whoâs allowed to pick him up. Heâs definitely more her cat than anyone elseâs, which is how he got his name. Tom stands for Teresaâs Orange Monster.

Despite it all, Tomâs family loves him so much, and somehow, they wouldnât have him any other way.
âTom wants to be a lover but isnât sure how,â Bates said. âI am pretty sure the moment he showed up, my folks knew they were keeping him.â

Tom the orange cat showed up exactly when he was needed, and both he and his family are so grateful that they found each other â even though Tom occasionally forgets to show it.