Couple Rescue Kitten From the Gutter—Then Realize Why They Have to Keep Him

A couple who saved a kitten they found in a gutter didn’t know what they were going to do with him—until he met their other cat.

Lauren Moldenhauer, 21, took to her TikTok account @laurenmoldy on June 25, where she showed the rescue of the fluffy lost kitten. In just two days, the video racked up 15 million views.

“My husband and I were on a run together and around mile 6, I stopped because I noticed a kitten on the side of the road sitting in the gutter,” she told Newsweek. “At first I thought he was dead, but then I saw his little tummy breathing super fast.”

The Utah couple acted fast, scooping up the kitten and rushing him to safety, not caring that it left them “filthy.”

“He was extremely overheated and breathing super fast, so we took him home and got him some milk and wet food,” Moldenhauer said.

In the viral video, Moldenhauer and her husband Drew, 23, cuddle the tiny kitten while covered in dirt, after doing everything they can to retrieve him from the gutter, writing: “You find a cat in the gutter on the side of the road but you already have a cat.”

Introducing a kitten to an older cat doesn’t always go smoothly, and pet owners are urged to take things slowly and cautiously when adding a kitten to the family.

Author and Cat Behavior Associates expert Pam Johnson-Bennett, previously told Newsweek there should be a gradual introduction, one sense at a time: “Scent, hearing, visual and then touch.”

She explained: “Even though the kitten will likely be ready to make friends, the adult cat’s sense of territorial protection will take over.”

But in Moldenhauer’s case, the kitten instantly hit it off with their ginger tom, Oscar. The video shows them instantly forming a bond: playing together, cleaning each other and simply cuddling together.

“We weren’t planning on getting a second cat anytime soon, but when we saw how great he got along with our 10-month orange tabby Oscar, we knew he was ours whether we wanted him or not,” Moldenhauer said.

She admitted, however: “It was pretty clear, though, my husband and I both wanted to keep him considering he is the cutest kitten we have both ever seen.”

And TikTok users agreed, flocking to the video with 3.3 million likes, and commented in the thousands, one joking: “Now your cat has his own kitten. It’s a win win.”

Another agreed: “Looks like your cat really needed that kitten, too,” while one said: “When you give your pet a pet.”

“The way you’re absolutely covered in filth is how I know you were committed to catching the kitten,” another pointed out.

And as one person put it: “Not me crying as I watch these 2 cats instantly bonding.”

The couple took their newfound kitten to the vet for a check-up. The vet had seen their viral rescue on TikTok and gave the good news that the kitten was healthy.

“We named him Maverick,” Moldenhauer said, “and we are happy to claim him as the newest member of the family.”

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