A young kitten who stayed with his toys while waiting for his owner to come back after being abandoned outdoors has broken hearts online.
Heartbroken by the plight of the abandoned kitten
A rescuer who saves cats across Brooklyn, New York, under the name Paws of Hope NYC, shared the kitten’s story after she herself appeared shocked at the casual cruelty, despite working with abandoned cats every day.
In a video watched over 550,000 times, shared to her TikTok account @pawsofhopenyc, the kitten can be seen sitting in his cat tree, which was left leaning against the outside of a building along with cat food and toys. He jumps out of the tree and cautiously approaches his rescuer when she calls out to him, and she eventually gets him into a cat carrier with the help of tinned food.
Her voice breaks with emotion as she thanks a passerby for her help, and she appears in disbelief as she says, “Poor baby. He’s young, maybe four or five months old.”
Rescued Kitten Finds Forever Home After Heartbreaking Start
While the kitten was now in safe hands, and the video goes on to show him looking happy and comfortable in the care of his rescuer, his story could have taken a seriously dark turn.
“Abandonment is a cruel fate no animal should suffer. This ginger kitten was perched on a cat tree, surrounded by his personal belongings, anxiously awaiting the return of his owners,” she wrote in the caption. “The pain in his eyes speaks volumes. He’s safe with me now. Every share, every dollar, and every act of kindness brings us closer to changing more lives.”
TikTok users were devastated by the short clip, and thousands flocked to the comments to share their support for Paws of Hope’s work.
The kitten has now been named Promise and is safe in his forever home. His story broke hearts across the internet.
