‘Yet little did we know, you were exactly what we needed that Christmas!’: The story of the black void kitten who crawled into the lives of a family one snowy night and became their source of healing and love, leaving behind a legacy of selfless love

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Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Dec 10, 2025 3:00 PM EST

The holiday season is a time for uplifting tales as much as it is for the saddest and toughest of tales. And while we usually bring you some of the more cheery chronicles of cats, we wanted to highlight one heartbreaking and heartwarming story that showed off just how sensitive and kind the Cat Distribution System and cats as a species can be. For this tale tells the story of the kitten who stumbled into an open door amidst copious amounts of snow into a home that desperately needed him. And in doing so, he was able to support several people through some of the toughest times in their lives. Making an everlasting paw print on their souls.

So while we take time to be thankful for all the people in our lives, we wanted to also remind you all that we must take time to show our gratitude to our cats as well.

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  • 01
    Backstory: A week or so before Christmas of 2015, my foster mom went out warm up the car. Apparently she didn't shut the door behind her and
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    amidst the snow- covered ground, the blackest kitten you'd ever seen (or easily missed) trod from yard to yard seeking shelter from the winter we were
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    facing. With no luck so far, it pushed forward until managing to find the open door of our basement. My best friend (and secrete life
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    companion) was dealing with some very difficult hardships as it was, between two grandparents battling cancer, the loss of her dog, and
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    a world that just seemed to be crushing down upon her, this little ball of darkness stumbled into our lives. Seeking refuge in the most
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  • See, proof that when it comes to holiday season miracles, cats and the Cat Distribution System simply know where and when they are needed most. Coming to soothe the souls of those who are most in need of a festive pick me up.

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    inopportune of locations due to allergies, the chemo, and the chaos currently going on, she was told not to get attached. Yet her love for Toothless in
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    HTTYD quickly gave this kitten a name that we were told we couldn't keep, and a grandmother's heart that outweighed her own life, quickly turned a "don't get
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    attached" into one of the best Christmas miracles you could have ever imagined. Per my best friend's facebook:
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    Well buddy, you did it. You got me through the hardest parts of my life. You came into my life a week before Christmas of 2015, before everything fell apart. You got me
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    through the deaths of two Grandparents and two other pets; it seems like you've done what you came to do....If only I could have your help through your own passing.
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  • We hope that cats know just how much they help us, how much their tiny paws and meows heal us. How just by being near us, they are doing a world of good that we could not have hoped any more of than they already do for us.

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    Grandpa always told me he knew God sent you to be my comfort through everything, and he was certainly right. We may have rescued you from a blizzard, but you rescued me from
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    life. You either passed from liver failure, or a heart attack, but my only hope is that we gave you the best life we could, full of love, warmth, and happiness. You will always be my little
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    doofus, my big idiot, or my puppy-kitty-baby, but most of all you will always be my best friend. I love you Toothless, and I will miss you with all my heart.
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    The issue is that while this cat technically belonged to my foster family, and while they see me no differently (for the most part) than one of their
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    own children, most of our shared acquaintances don't see it that way. Heck, even my own biological family doesn't see it that way. They just see it
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    as I spend a lot of time with a family from church (yeah... not even a foster family, but just a family from church...), but that [in this instance] the
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    cat wasn't anything to me because I don't share their last name. Today especially makes that so much more difficult, because I cannot properly
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    grieve the way I need to. I can with my best friend and her family because they understand, but most everyone else would just see it as "what's the big
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    deal?" The big deal is people are are ignorant to how much damage their words actually carry. So I would like the opportunity to give him a proper eulogy
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    if I may please... one last goodbye, if that is okay? Because my heart is broken right now, yet so few know because I have to put on a facade due to people's ignorance...
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    If you were going to tell me that I would ever "own" a cat, I would have laughed. I was always the guy who, while cats were "okay," dogs were superior. Nothing changes that kind of
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    mindset like owning a cat though, as I would soon come to realize that Christmas of 2015. Whether it was the cold that you traversed through, or just our family
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    in particular, you sure were a special cat who wasn't quite right in the head. Yet little did we know, you were exactly what we needed that Christmas! You were absolutely
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    purfect (I know... bad pun...) You didn't just defy odds by being a black kitten that found your way home, but you would come to show us what a home truly was.
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    gray tabby kitten sitting surrounded by christmas gifts and a tree
    via lalalululala via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    As you began to grow, you immediately demonstrated affection - something that we in that current moment needed so very much. You would come over
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    and gentle caress your soft, furry cheek over our hands and knees. Then you would gently climbed into our laps and curled up into a small black void, slowly purring
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    away as we scratched behind your ears down to the soft exterior of your neck. (That always was your favorite spot to have scratched.) You would always want attention
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    too... well that or an empty box, haha. Boy did you love boxes... or really anything that was holding something. We could bring in groceries and leave a couple
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    plastic bags on the ground, and you would run to them before we could scoop them up. You'd sniff them, crawl around in them, and then make it your home for a few moments,
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    Boxes were your favorite though... and it was only fitting that today you left that vet room in what you loved most a box. You passed away in the arms of those who loved you the
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    utmost, in whom you chose to give your love and affection to. Moments before we could get you through those doors, you had given one last breath while in our arms. We ran
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    through those doors, the vets seeing us approach and already guiding us to a room, but it was too late... and while it was so difficult to hear it confirmed, at least we know that you
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    were surrounded by those who loved you most. Man do I want to hear you meow again, just one more time... Oh how I pray this is just a bad dream I am going to wake
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    up from, go downstairs, and have you run between my feet begging for me to pet you and tell you good morning. Oh do I wish that we could setup a board
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    game, and I could laugh as you walk over the board and mess everything up instead of trying to gently guide you away from the board... where I would be on my
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    phone preoccupied with whatever game or social media app at the time, and I could embrace you instead of gently shooing you for trying to knock my phone
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    out of my hands. Wow, do I miss you. Oh how I just want to hold you one last time, tell you I love you, and feel you gently caress my face with your cheeks. At the end of the
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    day, we didn't deserve you. You showed us so much unconditional love for almost 4 years! Even as life got busy these past few months, you never ceased
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    trying to show us love. As we got too busy with everything recently to properly love you the way you needed to be, I just pray that you know how much
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    you were loved! I pray that you know the difference, the impact you made in our lives, and that you will never be forgotten in a million years. I pray that you're
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    resting easy now Tooth, and that you're able to run free again. I pray you're enjoying grandma and grandpa's laps for us, and you're sending our love with you for them.
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    I miss you so much, and I love you so much more than I showed you, but I pray that through the example you gave me, I can love someone else as affectionately, as
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    selflessly, as you did for us! I will see you soon, friend until next time! Thank you for giving me an opportunity to cry... an opportunity to say my goodbye one last time.
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christmas healing snow kitten lives reddit story cat story love family night crawl void need black cat
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