'I slammed on my break and got out and ran up to grab the kitten': Giant man rescues two itty bitty kitties abroad, flying them across the ocean to give them a loving forever home

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Mar 6, 2025 10:00 AM EST

Some people out there are absolute heroes. The people who save cats by any means necessary - the ones who go out of their way to do it. And the man in this story is definitely one of them. Sure, he's a marine, and that is impressive enough, but that's not the part that we are talking about. This kind man rescued not one, but two kittens on not one, but two different critical conditions. 

The first time, he stopped traffic to rescue a tiny black kitten, screaming at the honking cars around him and raising the kitten as if he's in The Lion King to show them why he's doing what he is doing. The second time, the kitten he rescued was on the verge of freezing, and if he allowed the kitten to stay out there much longer, chances are that it wouldn't have survived. And then, he saved them both again, by bringing them back home to the US with him after his service. He may say that he doesn't feel like a hero or like it was a heroic thing to do, but he is definitely a hero in our eyes. 

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    "I had posted about a few strays I acquired in Kuwait that I took back to the US and was told you all would be interested in their journey"

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    So I'm an American who spent some years working in Kuwait as a military contractor (Marine Corps vet) and also an animal lover. Within the first few weeks of working over there I noticed the ridiculous stray population to the point I started traveling with a small bag of cat food in my pack to feed ones I came across. If I was eating outside somewhere there I'd toss some of my food that came up to me as well. Small loss for me, big gain for them.
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    My second year there I was driving through a busy roundabout in a neighborhood called Fahad Al Ahmed. I thought I saw a black trash bag up against the inner wall of a roundabout but did one more spin around the loop and saw it was a kitten. I slammed on my break and got out and ran up to grab the kitten.
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    I got plenty of horns honked and angry Arabic words yelled at me but I flipped off the dude behind me and was able to tell someone to f themes in Arabic for the first time while I held up the cat for him to see.
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  • It really is the act of a brave and kind person to stop in the middle of the road, cars honking all around you, to help a tiny animal in need. You, kind man, deserve all the credit for what you did for this kitten. And for what you did for the other kitten. All the credit. 

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    Got the cat back to my flat and called the wife and got instructions of what to do. Nursed it back to good health, got her spayed, and looked for an adopted. After a few months I realized she most likely would be mine forever so we lived in peace for the next year or so there.
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    Summer of 2020 over there I'm living in a new neighborhood called Sabah Al Ahmed during CO ID. Beautiful neighborhood but out in the middle of nowhere in the desert. Heard a faint meow one day near my car and after some snooping I saw this tiny grey and white kitten.
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    Temperatures regularly reached 123- 125° during this time of year so I brought out water for the little thing but it was hiding under a water tank in our courtyard and I couldn't get to it. I put food out as well and watched from a distance as he came over and scarfed everything down.
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    When I tried to get close again he dove back under the tank. After 2 more days of trying I finally was able to low crawl quick enough to grab him by his tail and just pulled him to me. He would have likely been de d within days from the heat if I didn't find some way to get him. He was in much worse shape than my black cat so I quarantined him in my bathroom for a week before I could
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    get him to a vet. In the meantime my black cat (Stink) would sniff under the door constantly curious. After a clear bill of health, I introduced them to each other and they immediately hit it off. They would play around all day in our guest room and the kitten would hop around on his back legs so I named him Roo. My cat Stink was not much older but took over like a
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    mother cat grooming him and letting him sleep with her. During co id, Kuwait's airport got locked down for a while so no one entered and no one left. I finally was able to book a flight home at the end of the year after 440 days away from my wife. I had also decided at that point that it would be my last year working as a contractor over there.
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    My wife and I had decided that both cats would be coming home to the US with me. We have heard horror stories of pets dying in cargo holds from it being too hot or cold so she said the only way they were to travel back was by my side on the flights which requires you to book a special ticket for what is referred to as "pet in cabin". It took about 15 hours of
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    phone calls to get him booked on every flight for the multiple legs of the trip. I didn't want to deal with two pets at once as it's enough to just transport one so I decided to take Roo first. He was quickly approaching the maximum weight allowance so he was going with me first. Stink had lived in Kuwait long enough with me to get to know the other Marines I lived with so I wasn't
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    worried about her being without me for a month as well. Roo had never been without me which would have been harder for him to be away from me for a month. After coming back from that trip I put in my 90 day notice and in April I made my final trip out with my black cat, Stink.
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  • Look at them now. The two of them have been through so much in their short lives. Adventure after adventure. You don't need to know anything else about them, just look at the pictures, and you will see how much happier they are where they are now, surrounded by people who love them. 

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    Menu IAD-1:47 Canada US AD Washington Mexico Andal in 1h 47m Brazil Für Ihre Sicherheit For your safety Russia Frankfurt 0 Algeria India Indonesia A330-300 Lufthansa Während Rollen, Start und Landung bitte Monitor verstauen Stow monitor for taxi, take-off and landing
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    love you more love love ou
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    Zumipants Thank you for your service and for being so compassionate to helpless animals. You are a hero in my eyes. AC
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    YutYut6531 OP I appreciate it. As cliche as it sounds, I don't see myself as a hero. I've just always followed the mantra that “if you can do some good, do some good." I'm grateful I was financially in the position to help them come home with me and would do that trip 100 times over if needed be to get them back here. While I wish I could have helped more, it just always isn't feasible to do what you want to do. The ones I couldn't take I always fed though. I'd run every night around 2- 3 am and
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    Just try and make their life better any way you can. I'm lucky to be married to a saint of a woman who started her own non profit taking in the sick and injured felines of our area and she has found homes for north of 1,000 cats since she started 5 years ago so I've had my inspiration to help for years.
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