This past summer, millions of people took to the streets to play Pokémon Go, and one Reddit user ended up saving a cat’s life in the process.
Reddit user Zerofatorial was wandering the streets in Portalegre, Portugal on a sweltering 109-degree day, when suddenly she heard a very strange sound.
“As I was passing by an electricity post I heard what I thought it was a bird,” Reddit user Zerofatorial wrote. “But I found it very strange since I could not see any bird and besides that it should be way too hot for a bird to be chirping around. So I went back and investigated.”
What she found was a tiny kitten, stuck behind an electrical post, crying out for help.
“We have no idea how the hell did it get in that situation,” the user wrote. “It must have been there for a long time, since it barely had energy to cry. Its mouth was open wide, it did not close it. I only knew it was alive by its cry for help.”
Knowing that the little kitten wouldn’t be able to survive much longer trapped in the heat, the Good Samaritan called the fire department to see if they could help.
The firemen tried everything to free the poor kitten, but to no avail. They gave the trapped kitten some water while they worked, which he graciously accepted. He hadn’t given up yet, even though it seemed that everyone else was about to.
Finally, they tried one more method to save the kitten.
“Someone had the idea to use the machine they previously used to tilt the post in the junction of the top and bottom instead of only on the top,” the user wrote. “After they did, BOOM, the post busted and there was just enough space left for the cat to be free!”
The little kitten was terrified of all the commotion at first and tried to run away, but the firemen were able to secure him before he could escape. He was scrawny and filthy, and Zerofatorial and her parents decided to take him home with them for the night before bringing him to a shelter in the morning.
Despite finally being safe, the little kitten was still so scared, and hissed at his rescuers and refused to let them touch him. He did, however, take a liking to the family’s other three pets, and started bonding with them immediately.
The family bathed the kitten …
… and removed countless ticks …
… and discovered that he was actually a fluffy orange kitten underneath all that dirt and grime from living on the streets.
Even though the little kitten wasn’t very affectionate and still wouldn’t come near anyone besides the pets, the family decided they couldn’t bring him to a shelter. They decided to keep him, and named him Spock.
Spock continued to be afraid of people, and refused to let anyone near him for quite some time. It took months and months of gaining his trust …
… but finally, Spock allowed himself to be pet for the very first time.
Spock obviously had a rough start to life and must have been through so much to make him so scared of people, but thanks to the Reddit user and Pokémon Go, he now has a home with a family who loves him, where he is finally learning to feel safe.
