An unlikely house of adopters quickly made a rescue cat feel at home and crowned her with the title of official house mom.
An orange cat named Miss Ma’am was part of a spay, neuter and release program in an overpopulated area of Pennsylvania. This meant she would be released back into the community once she was fixed.
However, Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley shelter volunteer Danielle Baughman, who orchestrates the spay and neuter program, noticed how “adoptable” Miss Ma’am acted and knew the outdoors was no place for her.
Baughman kept Miss Ma’am at her house until she found the perfect forever home. She noted that all the cat wanted to do was be with people. But Baughman told Newsweek via TikTok that finding the right spot for her would not be easy as Miss Ma’am has a chronic respiratory illness that flares up with stress.
“She was living in a home with three dogs and the stress was so hard on her that she was living her life constantly sick,” she said. “She just slept in a box all day.”
Miss Ma’am’s luck turned when a Slippery Rock University student, Brenden, came into the shelter. Baughman told him about Miss Ma’am, although she was hesitant about Brenden being in a fraternity.
“…I never thought I’d be OK with it either until I got to know the guy, Brenden, who is the official adopter,” Baughman said.
The shelter placed Miss Ma’am with Brenden and his roommates on a trial basis because Baughman said she was “not comfortable with her living in a frat house.” However, after a week, Baughman visited and instantly noticed Miss Ma’am “thriving.” There was no doubt this was where she belonged.
Baughman’s January 4 TikTok video, posted to her account @all_deez_animals, shows Miss Ma’am living her best life with Brenden and the rest of the fraternity brothers. She’s getting endless love, attention and cuddles. She’s even earned herself the title of “official house mom.”
Baughman said Miss Ma’am still loves sleeping in her box. This time, however, Brenden sets it next to his desk and she uses it as a napping spot while he plays games or works. She meets all the new pledges. The fraternity also plans to put her picture in their composite, where she’ll forever be cemented as a legacy.
“She is living life for the first time ever,” Baughman said. “She wanted no part of coming back with me. She is a fixture of the frat house…I could not be happier that she went with them.”
Touched by the fraternity brothers joining together to raise her, the TikTok clip amassed more than 463,200 views and 88,600 likes as of Wednesday.
“That’s not a frat bro that’s a frat fam,” said one viewer, while another wrote about the adopters: “Green flags everywhere.”
A third commented: “That sweet baby has so many dads.”
