After finding an abandoned cat wandering in a nearby parking lot, a Reddit user didn’t hesitate to take her home. Now the way the feline is adjusting to her new environment has left internet users in tears.
In a viral post shared in August under the username u/Hawkeshade, the poster shares an “update on [the] cat left in [a] parking lot after [her] owner was evicted.”
“She is doing well and is coming out of her shell. She had some issues around food the first couple of days, but that has largely been resolved now,” the poster says.
A post shared days earlier explains that, after another neighbor informed the poster about the tortoiseshell kitty wandering alone around the parking lot, they immediately went there and took her home.
“She was too shell-shocked at finding herself outside that I was able to just walk up and grab her. She has spent the last day in my bathroom,” the poster said.
The cat was initially scared and nervous, hissing and growling when the poster got close, but she is now slowly opening up.
The poster said: “She likes to flop down in front of me and flash her belly. She also likes to flop down on her side and then drag herself across the floor by her front legs. Her back legs work really well as she can jump pretty high, so the dragging just seems to be a quirk of hers.
“She tends to get so focused on toys that she leaps before she looks. I have to be careful when playing with her so she doesn’t land on anything that might hurt her. She hasn’t so far but did nearly upend the litter box once.”
In the comments section, the poster said that, after contacting the cat’s previous owner, they told them that they wouldn’t be able to care for her anymore, and surrendered her to them.
The poster added: “I have been calling her Chloe and she seems to be starting to respond to it. Her previous owner called her the same name as Riley’s (one of my cats) nemesis and it stresses him out to hear that name. She doesn’t seem to respond to it either so I figured a name change would not hurt.
“I am in the process of trying to get her into the vet for a wellness exam and vaccinations and to see if she has been spayed or not but have to wait until animal services gets back to me. She will be ready for a permanent home once all that is done and she gets spayed if she hasn’t been already.”
While Chloe was lucky to find a new family so quickly, many abandoned felines are faced with a very different reality. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says that almost 3 million homeless cats entered shelters across the country last year.
Of those, only 2.2 million went on to find a new forever home; 362,000 were returned to their owner or the field; 369,000 were transferred to other organizations; and about 273,000 were euthanized.
The video quickly went viral on social media and has so far received over 13,000 upvotes and 150 comments on the platform.
One user, Unwoven, commented: “Sounds like you’re doing wonderful with her and she’s responding well. So happy to hear this update.”
CatFanIRL posted: “She’s one of the prettiest torties I have ever seen.”
252780945a wrote: “She’s got that tortie attitude too, from the sound of it. Beautiful cat. So happy to see she’s being cared for!”
Newsweek reached out to @Hawkeshade for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
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