Tomcat brings stray kittens back to his owner

Ziggy the cat used to be feral but one winter day in Texas he showed up on Reddit user u/Notnotstrange’s door looking for food.

After a year of consistently coming back every day, and in the midst of a bad winter storm, Ziggy let himself be taken in. His owner reports that he was dehydrated and had an infected eye, which after a visit to the vet was soon rectified.

And even though he decided to live life on the porch for a while, Ziggy’s owner made sure that he was comfortable in a heated bed protected from the elements.

A Tabby cat laying on a porch. — Ziggy the cat lounges on his new owner’s porch. Pic credit: @Notnotstrange/Reddit.

According to his owner, Ziggy “saved” them too.

Warming up

Because Ziggy was feral before, he took some time to get used to affection from humans. It took a few months for him to get accustomed to being held, but eventually, he became a happy lap cat.

He was far more suited to relationships with other cats, and kittens, in particular, as owner u/Notnotstrange says, “he likes to adopt other cats”.

Since finding his own forever home, Ziggy has brought home four kittens in the space of about two years.

An adult cat and a black kitten stretching side by side. — Ziggy, and one of his adopted kittens on the left, having a good stretch. Pic credit: @Notnotstrange/Reddit.

Foster tomcat

It’s unclear as to whether Ziggy seeks out these vulnerable kittens, or whether these kittens follow him because he lets them. Either way, it’s unusual behavior for a tomcat, as unfortunately, male cats don’t tend to get along with kittens that are not their own.

But not Ziggy, he often scruffs the kittens when they’ve strayed too far from him, to make sure he can keep an eye on them. His owner likes to think of Ziggy as a foster parent, helping to keep the kittens safe before they find their forever homes.

This has made u/Notnotstrange’s house become somewhat of a safe haven for kittens. Whenever Ziggy brings a new kitten friend home, they feed and take care of the kittens until they can make arrangements to get them adopted.

And there seems to be no stopping Ziggy’s habit.

An adult cat standing beside a calico kitten. — Another kitten Ziggy brought home, this time a calico female. Pic credit: @Notnotstrange/Reddit.

Ziggy has brought home a kitten as recently as 8-months ago, proving that old habits die hard.

At least this is a habit that Ziggy’s owner doesn’t mind, they get to enjoy taking care of the new kittens and sending them off to a good home.