A man has melted hearts across the internet after rescuing a stray cat that his coworker had been trying to kill by throwing rocks.
The man and original poster (OP), user chiefbuzz, shared the story on Reddit, explaining that he works as an electrical technician at a steel mill where stray cats were common.
“All of them that I’ve dealt with are friendly, and we feed them to keep the mice away and because they’re awesome,” he wrote.
‘I hate the guy’
A few months ago, he had spotted a small ginger cat wandering around that he could tell was “very malnourished”.
However, he was shocked when a coworker told him he had been throwing rocks at her “to scare away/kill because he ‘hates cats’ and thinks leaving them to starve is crueler”.
“I hate the guy very much,” the OP added.
Photo by elifilm / Getty Images
Determined to save her, the OP spent nearly an hour crawling through a tunnel and cable tray before managing to secure the kitten in a box, and he contacted his wife letting her know he was bringing home a new member of the family.
“She’s actually the one who turned me into a cat dad,” the user told Newsweek in a message. “We had fostered kitten before so we were able to take care of her, along with the vet.”
Now, months later, the cat, named Aelin, is thriving.
“She’s a cuddly, chirpy, spiky, little pumpkin that I would kill for,” the OP wrote, adding that “the vet says she’ll probably be small forever, but she’s fully healthy”.
‘I hope more people help out’
In a message to Newsweek, the OP said that he is “genuinely surprised” his post got so much attention, adding, “I really do love showing off Aelin. I’m glad she’s gotten so much love indirectly through the internet. It makes us all very happy.”
He continued, “I heard a lot of other stories in the comments about people saving their cats in one way or another. I hope more people help out, whether it’s a fuzzy friend or another person.”
Reddit Reacts
The post quickly attracted more than 1,100 comments, with Reddit users applauding the OP for rescuing the cat.
One wrote, “Cute cat.. and throw rocks at your co-worker (just kidding, don’t do it),” to which the OP replied, “I legitimately could not bring my wife on a tour of the mill because she wanted to throw rocks at him.”
Another added, “What a lovely cat. Good work, my dude. Your coworker sounds like a horrible person. I can’t understand how people can be so casually cruel to a living creature.”
‘He was a pain’
“Thank you for saving this cat! Also, you should report your coworker for animal cruelty if you catch them doing that s*** again,” a third user commented, to which the OP replied, “Luckily, he was fired for other reasons, so I don’t have to worry about him anymore!”
“He was a pain for other work reasons, but I was never comfortable around him after he stated he threw rocks at cats,” the OP told Newsweek.
More Cat Coverage
By the sounds of it, the OP and his wife may have added a fun companion to their family—cats can be highly entertaining pets.
In a recent viral post covered by Newsweek, a cat named Serafino melted hearts among social media users, thanks to his unexpected vocal talent.
“He really is a little star in our lives, and it means a lot to see others enjoy his personality too,” the cat’s owner told Newsweek.
Meanwhile, in a TikTok video also covered by Newsweek, a couple adopted what they thought was a standard kitten, but it grew into a strikingly large, majestic cat now known as their “house panther”.
Newsweek has reached out to chiefbuzz requesting further comment.
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