A young woman found a litter of kittens in an old dog house in their backyard. A neighborhood cat had chosen there to have her babies.
Nichelle, imgur/Lunakins
About two years ago, Nichelle from Alberta, Canada, was living at her grandparents' when she discovered the litter of kittens.
"The mom was a stray. She had her babies in an old dog house in the backyard. The area I lived in (off the highway) had a lot of stray cats that were abandoned," Nichelle told Love Meow.
Later, the cat mama moved her kittens onto their porch and took shelter under it. Every day Nichelle brought food and water to keep the mama cat fed and hydrated.
Nichelle, imgur/Lunakins
When the kittens were old enough, Nichelle started feeding them kitten food. At five weeks old, the kittens became more independent, and that's when their mother cat ran away and never came back for them.
Nichelle became their sole caregiver and looked after them until they were old enough for good homes.
Nichelle, imgur/Lunakins
"They brightened my everyday. I handled them often because I didn't want them to turn feral," Nichelle told Love Meow.
Nichelle, imgur/Lunakins
"They waited for me to get home from work every day."
Nichelle, imgur/Lunakins
Nichelle managed to get all but three kittens adopted.
The remaining three gingers stayed with the family for quite a while. When they finally found them homes, one of the kitties refused to leave.
Nichelle, imgur/Lunakins
"I didn't want to get too emotionally attached so I tried not to name them, but I ended up calling them Kitty, Fluffy and Orange."
Orange has always been the shyest one of his litter.
Nichelle, imgur/Lunakins
He immediately took refuge when Nichelle's mother was about to take them to their new homes. "They couldn't get Orange, so they left him a bunch of food and were going to come back and try again," Nichelle told Love Meow.
"He was the most difficult and skittish. He was the least used to human contact and always the first to run."
Nichelle, imgur/Lunakins
Later, the adoption fell through, and Orange never left his foster family. When Nichelle came home, the ginger boy was so happy to see her.
"When it was just the two of us, he wore me down and I got a new best friend..."
Nichelle, imgur/Lunakins
"He used to be a biter and had a difficult personality, and I kind of knew that if no one else could handle his personality, I would take care of him," Nichelle told Love Meow.
"He's one of the best things to ever force its way into my life. We are meant to be stuck together."
Nichelle, imgur/Lunakins
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