Four weeks after losing their soul cat, a pregnant stray gives birth to an adorable litter of kittens in person’s backyard and abandons the tiny void runt, forcing the human to start healing one tiny paw at a time

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Jun 29, 2026 11:00 AM EDT

Sometimes, the CDS knows that you are ready for a new kitten way before you know it.

Nothing can quite mend the heartbreak of losing your soul cat. Nothing. It will sting deep in your heart every time you think about them even years after they are gone. But some things can help. We're not saying that you should rush into adopting another cat. What we are saying is that sometimes, a new cat will find you, and you will have to decide very quickly if you are ready for it.

Of course, the beauty of it all is that when a kitten decides to adopt you, it generally doesn't ask for permission. When my husband's kitten walked into his apartment exactly on his 27^th birthday, she didn't care that he had lost his soul cat barely two years prior. He didn't know if he was ready, so he left the door to his apartment open. He gave her a choice. When she ran off five minutes later, it kind of broke his heart. But she was just teasing, because she walked right back in two minutes afterward, and she never left again.

The person who opened up about their story of adopting a kitten after a loss on r/blackcats didn't have even two years to get used to the idea of a new cat. They lost one of their soul cats, and a year later, they lost their second one as well. It was barely 4 weeks after this happened that a pregnant cat gave birth to a litter of kittens in their backyard and abandoned the runt of the litter, and it felt like fate. Looking at that itty bitty creature, in need of a mom, in need of help, they simply could not leave the kitten there to fight the world on its own.

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"The CDS gifted me a void"

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It's not an easy decision to take a cat in so soon after a loss, but clearly, the decision was made for you. That momma cat had to have known that of all places in the world, this was a good one for her kitten.
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This is true. One cat will never replace another. They are all different. And they all have so much love to give. As much as we have to give them.
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