‘I just burst out in tears at the thought of having took him from his family’:A person’s compassionate rescue of a sick and abandoned kitten leads to an emotional crisis of empathy after the rest of the feline family returns

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Sep 11, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Cat rescues just got a whole lot more complicated with this story, and it is hard to put how we feel about the implications into words. You see, usually the biggest concern a would-be feline rescuer might have is that they are unwittingly taking someone's cat child, who simply went out for a stroll and maybe lost their collar and look a little scruffy. A problem which is rather easily avoided thanks to microchips and strong social media communities that support finding lost pets.

But what happens when a would-be rescuer comes across a kitten who is obviously feral, takes them in, and a few days later sees the cat's feline mother come back around to check up on her kitten? This is the conundrum that we will be taking a look at within this story, and we can tell you it is not an easy one to judge. 
 

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    I rescued my kitten, Frankie, on Monday after he was left alone outside. He was initially with his litter, but then he was by himself, and days went by with him looking more and more sick. I took him
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    in. The vet said he's going to be okay, he's on medication for his diarrhea, eye infection, and ear mites. I've been so happy to see him getting better.
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    Today, out of the blue, mama cat returns with several kittens and I just burst out in tears at the thought of having took him from his family. I do
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  • Ohhhh snap, talk about an ethical conundrum. Also, this makes you wonder how many other rescues are actually accidental cat thefts. Though with some perspective, you can say that there is every chance that this kitten was left there to see if it was actually weak as the mother suspected and wither it would survive a few days alone and prove its strength or simply not…

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    know, however, he was left behind. I still feel that guilty festering in me, even seeing he is happy with me, warm, and well- fed compared to the other kittens we saw.
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    Cheezburger Image 10551609088
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    Many of them not eating or moving, some eating too much. I'm not sure what to do, at this point the damage is done and I already took him in as my own. I never would've
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    intentionally separated him so early on. He's four weeks, but he was freezing, it was raining, and he was alone with no mom or siblings around.
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    Does anyone have any comforting words? Opinions? I have been so
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    emotional since seeing the family of cats back in our yard, knowing that I took one of the babies. I keep trying to tell myself that he's better off and safe, compared to the other kittens, but I
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    wouldn't want to be taken from my mom and family like that. I also wouldn't want to be left alone outside one day with my mom never coming back?
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  • Look, just as we’ve said before, there is a good chance this kitten would not have made it on their own all those days that their mother had left them there. So in all reality, this heroic hooman saved a feline life that would not have been suited to the wild world outside. So the conundrum is rather null at this point. Had the kitten been healthy and or the cat momma returned much sooner, then maybe there would be an issue. But as it stands, this person is a legend.

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    Picture 1 is the litter from today and picture 2 is Frankie. He looks a bit greasy because he doesn't like his medicine and spits it up all over himself. He's so loving
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    Cheezburger Image 10551609344
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    and vocal. I just don't like thinking I did something bad for him rather than good.
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    shadesofn... You did what you thought was best and if you hadn't taken him in perhaps
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    he could have been left out in pain, sick and starving. You did what was right in that moment and I believe it was the best choice. Dont beat yourself up
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    Meatrocke... You did the right thing. Like you said, Mom cat abandoned Frankie. She
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    prioritized the kittens that she thought had a better chance of survival. You saved him from what was probably a lingering and painful d th. You should be
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    proud of yourself for saving him. If you can trap the other kittens and get them in to a shelter, please do so. If you
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    can trap mama cat and get her spayed, even better. But stop thinking you've done something wrong. Enjoy your new Void. I'm sure he's enjoying life.
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    Juggernau... You did nothing wrong. Let's be realistic about a few sy facts of life. Its kitten
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    season, and if mom gets pregnant again, she will reject all of her current kittens before finishing raising them.
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crisis compassion took abandoned cat stories emotional kitten reddit story feline tears family empathy sick rescue
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