Cat mom saves week-old baby black kitten from frostbite in -8 degree weather after student flags her down in the middle of her work commute: ‘[The vet] was skeptical about him surviving’

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Jan 21, 2026 12:00 PM EST

She was stopped on her way to work and presented with one task: keep the kitten warm, and get him to the vet as fast as pawssible.

It's our dream to be able to call out of work because we found a kitten on our way, and have to rush home to save them. That's the best excuse we could ever think of for missing work. Although it sounds exciting and adorable, after reading this story, we can only imagine how stressful it must have been as well.

A cat mom and her partner were flagged down by a student on her way to work. He bent down in front of her car, picked up a baby black kitten, maybe a week or so old, and handed it to her. It was -8 degrees outside and there was snow everywhere. Obviously, they rushed the frostbitten kitten home, warmed him up, and made him some formula. They got him into the vet, but his prognosis was far from purrfect. They weren't sure he was going to make it.

However, fast forward three months, and the kitten, now named 'Mortimer', is a playful, healthy kitten who loves his mom and dad. If they hadn't stopped at that exact meowment, who knows what would have happened to Mortimer. He has come a long way, and we hope he's never cold ever again.

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    On November 19th 2024 I was got by the Cat distribution system (I already have two) I was on my way to work one morning and it was about -8 and snowing and as I approached the busy main junction for me to leave the town centre where I live in Kings Lynn. A student on his way to school flagged me down to stop
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    which I did. He went out in front of my car bent down to pick something up and then He handed my partner a small black cat, barely a week or so old, his ears still folded eyes still closed. We took him home warmed him and I made him a bottle of cat formula and we booked him in at the
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  • Kittens, at this age, are not supposed to be separated from their moms. Without them, they have a very slim chance of survival. This is mostly because the mom helps their bodies operate normally while they're still young, things they can't do on their own, like use the litter box or eat properly. But on the other hand, they are the cutest at this age. They're so small, with their eyes still closed and tiny tails pointing up to the sky. It's pawssible for them to survive without their mom, but you have to know exactly what you're doing.

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    vets to have him checked in the next two days (as they don't do emergencies and where closed for the weekend) and the Night before the vets he was showing signs of fading kitten syndrome and we genuinely thought he wasn't going to make it through the night.
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    EST
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    She was indeed skeptical about him surviving and gave me some antibiotics, worming syrup and some antiseptic bath wash.
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    We'll flash forward to well over a year and he's a part of the family and doing extremely well! My partner she named him Mortimer and he loves his new sister Martha
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    S LEM, MAR WITO
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    He's come along way, but he's definitely more of a Black Labrador than a cat
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  • There are many reason why it's good that Mortimer was saved like this, but one not many people think of is because if he had been taken to an animal shelter, the chances of him getting adopted would be much lower than other kittens. Black cats are still the least adopted cat, even today. People still have strange superstitions around them that pawsitively make no sense. Can you imagine this tiny little baby being bad luck? We can't.

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commute black cats cat mom students work cat rescue winter Cats cute kittens animals
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