Last Updated on 9 December 2025 by Vanessa
Looking for a heartwarming travel tale? Discover how travel blogger Rebecca Hoffman found a stray cat in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and how it changed her life in the sweetest way.
How we adopted a street cat in Buenos Aires {Argentina}
This is a guest post by Rebecca Hoffman, author of the travel blog Becci Abroad and co-author of the book Alone Together: Tales of Sisterhood and Solitude in Latin America.
It could just have been any weekday… One of those days where you come home late, do the groceries, and start preparing dinner.
Maybe it was a Tuesday? Or maybe a Wednesday? I don’t quite remember. Nevertheless, it quickly turned out that this was not going to continue being just any weekday.
This was going to be the day where our family expanded with a +1, and we adopted the cutest little cat from the streets of Buenos Aires.
An ordinary weekday in Buenos Aires
It was the beginning of December, and the nights were getting warmer in Buenos Aires.
I was heading home after buying groceries.
As I approached the entrance of my building block in the Villa Urquiza neighborhood of Buenos Aires, I saw two of my neighbors standing outside on the pavement.
My neighbors never hung out together because they didn’t get along.
Once in a while, I chatted with a lady who took her big white cat for walks on the patio of the building. Otherwise, we kept to ourselves.
However, that night, something was up.
The street cat
As I approached, I could see they were looking at a small white and brownish cat.
It had the most beautiful light-blue eyes and black spots all over its body, but most characteristically, a big black spot on the nose.
I asked the owner of the white cat whether she had bought another one. The woman looked worried and answered, “No, this one isn’t mine. It seems lost, and has been meowing on the street for a while now”.
They had tried to give the cat some food and a little bed on the pavement, but it seemed more interested in getting petted.
Since I have a big heart for cats, I couldn’t pass by like nothing happened.
I stopped to pet the cat, forgetting everything about groceries and dinner.
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Taking her in
My boyfriend came outside. “The cat is leaving when you are leaving,” he said, while we stood in the opening of the front door.
He was right. The small, fluffy feline was slowly walking away.
“It is karma; the cat is meant for you,” my boyfriend said. “Take her with you.”
“We can’t. What will the dogs say?” I brought in.
“We’ll see,” my boyfriend said.
I couldn’t bear to think of where this cat might end up.
It was clear that it hadn’t eaten well for days. It was dirty, and was continuously requesting love and petting.
“We will take care of the cat until you find the owner,” I told my neighbors.
“With the dogs?” one of them asked.
“Yes, we’ll see how it goes. The dogs normally don’t fight with the cats in the street,” I answered.
I took the cat up in my arms and went inside.
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Becoming a family
The cat was okay with being held but freaked out about the elevator door, so I took it up the stairs and into our apartment. I showed our new pet to the terrace, where it hid behind a lemon tree.
The neighbors agreed that they would post on Facebook and go to the police to ask if somebody had reported their cat missing.
But nobody called. Nobody answered on Facebook. Nothing.
The cat has stayed with us ever since.
My boyfriend and I named her Gata, which is kind of a strange name for a cat in a Spanish-speaking country since it just means “female cat.” In Danish (and in English), however, it doesn’t really have a meaning.
Gata is super talkative and wants to take part in all kinds of activities, from watering plants to hanging the laundry up to dry.
It is even better if I can include a huge amount of petting.
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Gata finds her happy place
Gata’s favorite spots are on a chair with my old pillow and under the lemon tree (as in the pictures).
She has food and fresh water on the parrilla (Argentinian-style barbecue), which we never use anyway. Or she sits on the staircase overlooking the living room.
Lately, Gata has been coming down lying next to me when I work on my blog.
I took Gata to the vet to get her checked and get the necessary vaccines. She is healthy but needs her teeth cleaned.
Gata never seems to go any farther than the roof of the building. Even though she has all the opportunities in the world to leave, she has chosen to stay with us.
Gata is doing good, and she gets on okay with the dogs. I believe she told them they are stupid and that she is the master, as cats tend to do.
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Final thoughts on how we adopted a street cat from Buenos Aires
So, this is the story of how my boyfriend and I adopted a street cat in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
We don’t know where Gata came from. We will probably never know. But now the cat is part of the family.
Have you ever adopted a street cat? Or maybe wanted to? Share your story or thoughts in the comments below.
Rebecca Hoffmann is Danish but has fallen in love with Latin America. She studied Spanish in Cuba for four months and traveled Colombia alone. Even though her looks and attitude tend to stand out (tall, blond and strong-minded), she decided her international undergraduate program with Spanish was not enough, so she moved to Argentina for her Masters. You are now most likely to find this Viking turned Latina strolling the streets of its capital, Buenos Aires. Rebecca shares her stories about Latin America, and Buenos Aires in particular, at Becci Abroad. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @becciabroad.
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