‘Hey, do you want a cat?’: One year old abandoned long-haired kitten found in a beat up pet carrier gets serendipitously adopted after a chance encounter with the rescuer’s neighbor whose soul cat recently passed

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Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Jan 22, 2026 4:00 PM EST

So many abandoned cat adoptions come with complications. Whether it is health issues, shelter issues or just people issues, there are usually more than a few things that get in the way of a smooth and simple adoption. But in this story we are treated to a delightful tale detailing the dramatic turn of events which landed a kitten a home within two sentences.

We meet our feline in a desperate state, locked in a decrepit carrier, tossed by the side of the road. No hope, no luck, and no way out of the box he has been trapped in. There is no sign of how he got there nor who put him there but one thing is clear this is a kitten who needed help. Thankfully, our protagonist happened to be walking by and took pity upon the cute kitten.

But seeing as he himself had a whole bunch of cats and a dog at home already, he could not find it within himself to take on the needs of yet another feline soul, and so sought to find this carrier kitten a deserving home. And as it happens he did not have to look all too far nor hard for such a home. Instead of spending hours on social media, or wasting time ringing around shelters and rescues that are full, he found his neighbor in need of a new feline companion and he was all too happy to help. And so our once discarded cat was given exactly what he deserved in life, with the least drama possible, just as he deserved. 

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  • 01
    "I visited them last night, and the kitten is doing wonderful! "
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  • 02
    She is probably under a year old, was huddled in this beat up pet carrier,
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    didn't want to come out. The fact that she was in this carrier still, leads me to believe that she hadn't
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    been there long, and that she was actually abandoned, as opposed to stray or an outdoor cat.
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  • 05
    She is small, black, long- haired, affectionate, clean, seems healthy...altog ether a really
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    nice kitty. She may need to be spayed. I can't keep her because I already have 2 cats and a dog.
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  • The heartlessness of some people is truly astounding. Like how can you find yourself in the position to simply dump a cat in a carrier by the roadside. Have you no time to go to a shelter? Have you no patience to put a post up on social media asking for help? There are countless little things that one can do to make a big difference in the way that they separate from a cat, yet this person opted to simply ditch their kitten as though it was nothing, a lifeless, emotionless object that can be discarded like a piece of trash. And even if it were a piece of trash it would still count as littering. 

  • 07
    I'm going to take her to the humane society this week sometime, but if anyone can offer her a
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    forever home befor I do that, that would be wonderful! I'll probably have to take her
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    UPDATE: I ran into my neighbour while walking my dog and I jokingly said
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    "Hey, do you want a cat?" knowing his cat had passed away this past winter. Well,
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    he says "Yes!" so she's with him at the moment. He does have another cat as well, so her
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  • Freaking genius! This is literally what we need more of in this world. While we appreciate that it is important to find cats a good and safe home, it is also important to not have our shelter and rescue systems overwhelmed like they currently are. Sometimes you just need someone to come along, be asked if they want a cat, they say yes and have that be the end of the story. Just look how well it worked out in this case, and sure it might be an outlier and these people knew each other before. But surely almost any home is better than living in a metal cage for months or years on end?

  • 12
    permanence there is dependant on their getting along. But so far, so good.
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  • 13
    I took her to the vet to check for a micro-chip (none) and fleas (none)
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    but had yet to schedule a full check-up, so he is going to look after that, as well as get her
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    fixed. She will be an indoor cat. He sms quite heavily, which I feel is never good for an
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    Cheezburger Image 10598559488
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    animal, but his other cats have lived 15- 20 years despite this, so I have high hopes!
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    Thanks for all the concern and nice messages. I can't f g believe some
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    horrible people, abandoning that lovely creature. And it happens every day, all
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    over the world. Support your local SPCA, people!
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    As per my last post, I gave her to a nieghbour in my building whose cat had d d late last
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    year. He was thinking about getting another cat to keep his remaining cat, Barney, company.
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    I visited them last night, and the kitten is doing wonderful! He named her 'Fate' because
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    he feels it was fate that her horrible first owners abandoned her, and I found her,
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    then I ran into him and happened to ask him if he wanted another cat. She loves him, and she and
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    Barney are adjusting well to each other. So that's it!
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chance old cat neighbors want long haired found soul beat up year abandoned kitten encounter reddit story adopted cat story pet carrier rescue
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