Concerned homeowner rescues injured cat in distress, rushes her to emergency care—only to discover she was abandoned by her owners, and decides to give her a second chance at life: 'Four hours into fostering, I knew she was already home'

Hey there, friends! We hope your day is off to a great start. If you haven't already, we highly recommend taking a little mental health walk to get those endorphins kicking and the serotonin flowing. You've got to hear the wild tale of this accidental hitchhiker—meet the brave little stowaway, now known as Jewels.

It all started on a stormy February day in Las Vegas. Our original poster (OP) noticed a tipped-over pop-up trash can in the garage and suspected a mouse might be the culprit. To test the theory, they left out a couple of Cheez-Its—and sure enough, they were gone an hour later. Convinced it was rodent-related, OP scheduled an exterminator and went about their day, as most normal folks would do in such a situation!

Later that afternoon, they hopped into their garage-kept car to pick up their 7-year-old daughter from school. Everything seemed normal—until they got home. As the engine cut off, faint meowing could be heard. Sure enough, a terrified kitten had somehow hidden herself in the car's undercarriage, making the 3–4 mile round trip to school and back.

She was in rough shape. OP rushed her to the vet, where a microchip revealed previous owners—who sadly no longer wanted her. So OP took her home as a foster, thinking it'd be temporary. But just a few hours later, they knew: this cat was already where she belonged. Now named Jewels, this brave little survivor is thriving in her new home—with a loving human and a feline sibling by her side.

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"Found this girl in the undercarriage of my car just over a year ago. How it started and how its going:"

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"She wakes me up 5 minutes before my alarm every morning, smelling my nose."

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"And she cries at me while I'm in the kitchen, not to eat, because she wants me sitting on the couch, so she can jump in my lap."

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"I love her so much!"

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MORE INFO FROM OP:
It was very stormy in Vegas last February, and I went out to my garage to find a pop-up camping trash can tipped over. I figured we might have a mouse problem. To test my theory, I left a couple of Cheez-Its on the floor to see if they’d get eaten. An hour later, I checked—and they were gone. Convinced it was a mouse, I called the exterminator the next morning and scheduled him to come by in a few days.
Later that same day, I got home from work (I drive a work truck, so my personal vehicle mostly sits in the garage). I jumped in that car to pick up my daughter (7F) from school. When we got back, I turned off the engine and heard meowing. We have another cat (equally as lovable), and I panicked, thinking I had left him outside. I rushed into the house—only to see him lounging in the window hammock. That’s when I heard my daughter yelling, “Dad! There’s a cat under the car!”
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CONTINUED:
Sure enough, a cat had ridden in the undercarriage to the school and back—about 3 to 4 miles round trip. She was in rough shape. I took her to the vet to get scanned, and she had a chip—but the owners flat-out didn’t want her anymore. So, I decided to foster her while I looked for a loving home.
Turns out, about four hours into “fostering,” I realized she was already home. The rest is history. I’m very lucky to have her, and my other cat loves having a new friend, too.
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