There is no way this story actually happened.
They lost me when his cat came when called.
I had a cat which responded vocally with “mrrr” when hearing his name. Saying the name repeatedly had an 80% chance of summoning my cat, and a 20% chance that he would come running and jumping up into my hug. I loved that cat so much. Smart loving bastard who liked to also chew on my wife’s foot on her way to the bathroom at night, and lovingly hump his towel when he was bored.
I’m suspicious of this story because the cat came over. The cats awkwardness gene would have awakened and the cat would have become immediately aware of the awkwardness of the situation and would have known that the correct course of action is to stays put for maximum embarrassment.
Then demand feeding.