Family’s Cat Keeps Coming Home Wearing New Sweaters

Papa Legba, a cat from El Paso, has made friends with one of his neighbors who likes to make sure he’s warm on his neighborhood rounds.

When Crystal Robert and her family adopted a stray cat in 2019, they quickly learned he was an expert in sneaking out even though they tried to keep him indoors.

Now they know he’s got at least one “other family,” because Papa Legba, as they call him — named after the mythical intermediary between the physical and spiritual worlds in west African folklore — frequently returns wearing sweaters.

Yes, that’s plural. Papa’s mystery second family has sent him home wearing a blue striped sweater, a solid-colored pink sweater and, for the holidays, a traditional “ugly” Christmas sweater. He’s also been given a shirt that says “Born To Be Awesome.”

papalegbacat

Robert, who lives in El Paso, Texas, says Papa is usually averse to any kind of collar or accessories, but she believes the sweaters “humble” him because he’s cuddlier when he wears them.

“He seems more docile [when wearing the sweaters]” she told The Dodo. “Or maybe embarrassed.”

She told a local news outlet she hasn’t yet pinned down his second family, but she wants to thank whoever’s been treating the little guy well.

“I have already met with five families,” she said. “I haven’t met his other family yet, but I hope we can continue to ‘share’ custody.”

She said she’s narrowed it down to a few houses and plans to come knocking with baked goods to thank the neighbors for their kindness.

“I hope people can keep their pets at home, inside,” Robert told The Dodo. “They are our family and they are safest when with their owners, but if you have a wily cat like ours, I hope you are blessed with generous and lovely neighbors like mine.”

17 thoughts on “Family’s Cat Keeps Coming Home Wearing New Sweaters”

  1. 🤣👍My mom knitted a french hat for my first cat Kitty. Forgot name of them. And my mom claimed she did not like cats. That hat is on top of box with Kittys ashes. I bet she would of knitted a sweater for her.

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  4. thats is so funny and exactly how Bertie behaves , he has his own whats app group so all his “houses” can keep track of him and we all know where he is at any time

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  9. I adopted a neighbor’s cat after he refused to sleep at home for a year, insisted that I was his true servant, and demanded to live in his house that he would share with me. (The neighbors got 2 big dogs) Sometimes he’d come home reeking of skunk, and had to stay outside until I procured de-skunking supplies. The next morning he’d be clean and freshly smelling of perfumed soap. Happened a few times. So glad he had another home someplace that took care of that nasty job. 

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      1. Poor little guy my foot! Poor me!  That striped little menace never used his one brain cell to figure out…  a black cat with a bushy tail plus a white stripe down the back equals reeking of skunk stench.  His other family must have had more people. I couldn’t bathe him by myself. Then his bathing family quit dealing with it. So I hired a vet tech professional cat wrangler. She’d come make him behave while being scrubbed.  Pheeeyouu poor hoomans. 

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      2. Haha. Well, Bud used to have boxing matches with his reflection in the mirror when he was younger, so I suppose all cats have their braindead moments. I’ll take the boxing over the skunk though, any day.

        Being a professional cat wrangler sounds like a difficult job.

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