A clever cat from Long Island has captured hearts online after figuring out how to use a Ring doorbell to announce her arrival home.
“She knows exactly what she’s doing,” said Stefanie Whitley, Lily’s owner. And why wouldn’t she? Lily, an 8-year-old indoor/outdoor cat, has always been a bit of a neighborhood boss. In her old neighborhood, she had a reputation for ruling the block.
But things took a turn when Stefanie and her family relocated to a new home in Mastic Beach, Long Island. Stefanie was concerned about how Lily would handle the new environment, fearing that the unfamiliar territory might confuse her beloved pet. “I was really nervous about bringing her to a new area, how she would react,” Stefanie shared with KTLA.
Lily, like any adventurous outdoor cat, took off to explore her new surroundings. When she didn’t return right away, Stefanie grew more anxious by the hour. Normally, Lily was good about coming home, but this time felt different. “I didn’t think Lily was coming back,” she said, worried for her safety.
From Lily’s point of view, though, it was just another day of outdoor fun. She had wandered off to do what cats do best—explore.
But four days later, when Lily decided to return home, she had no time for subtlety. Something had apparently startled her, and she made a beeline for the front door. But instead of simply waiting for her humans to notice her, Lily took matters into her own paws.
With urgency, she pressed the Ring doorbell, knowing it would alert her family that she was back and needed to get inside right away. When the door didn’t open immediately, Lily began meowing persistently to make sure her family knew she was outside.
Her plan worked perfectly. The combination of the ringing doorbell and her insistent meows woke the family, giving them quite a surprise. The alert from the Ring app startled Stefanie, who feared someone suspicious was lurking outside in the middle of the night. It wasn’t exactly the time you’d expect a visitor.
When the doorbell rang, everyone was on edge. Who could be at the door so late? But when Stefanie checked the Ring camera and saw Lily pawing at the door, trying to let herself in, relief and laughter filled the house. Stefanie’s initial reaction was priceless as she screamed, “Oh my God!” upon reuniting with her long-lost furry companion.
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“We all gasped. We were laughing, emotional, even crying. It was such a beautiful moment,” Stefanie recalled.
Stefanie is convinced that Lily knew exactly what she was doing when she pressed that doorbell, clearly aiming for a little help to get inside. “I don’t know how she found us, but she definitely knows what the Ring camera is,” Stefanie explained. “Every time the notification goes off, she looks toward the door. She knows what she’s doing.”
Who knows? Maybe this is just the beginning of cats taking over. Today they’re ringing doorbells, and tomorrow, they might just figure out how to order tuna from DoorDash.