Man pulls into parking lot, can’t believe what crawls out from under car

A man returning home from work began pulling into his reserved parking spot, only to realize something had claimed it, which led him to gain a new, furry friend.

Michael Gassaway of New Mexico began turning into his parking spot when he spotted a tiny animal lying in the middle of it. He originally thought the animal was dead or dying, or even a stuffed toy, he told Newsweek via Reddit. Being halfway into the spot, he carefully maneuvered around it and then got out of his vehicle to investigate.

As it turns out, the animal wasn’t dead, but instead an orange kitten fast asleep. He went to the building managers, who came outside with him, and after some discussion, Gassaway decided to keep the kitten, which came with a bit of a learning curve for him.

“I had to take a trip to Petco and research how to take care of a kitten,” he said. “I started bottle feeding him and taking care of him, which initially was a lot of work, but has been worth it.”

Fast forward three months, and his kitty, dubbed Parker due to where he discovered him, is thriving. He said Park is “a lot of fun to have around.”

Gassaway, known on Reddit as @mgphotographs) shared Parker’s rescue story with a video montage of his progression on the subreddit channel r/cats. He continued to grow and regain strength during his “journey to three months.” The clip shows him playing, snuggling and hopping around happily in Gassaway’s care.

“After taking him in, I took him to a rescue shelter to get an opinion on his health,” Gassaway said. “They said he looked healthy and told me he was 10-14 days old.”

However, Gassaway went with 10 days due to him hitting developmental stages— such as litter box usage, walking and eating solid foods—later than expected.

Viewer Reactions

Within two days, the Reddit post amassed over 25,000 upvotes and 344 comments, as users applauded his selflessness.

“Looks like you’ve earned a fantastic companion with your kindness. What a precious little fur ball,” wrote one person.

Another commented: “Nicely done, they look in great health. Well done for saving them.”

A third user said: “Omg, thriving and growing stronger every day. Thank you!!!”

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.