A boy saved a stray cat from the street and gave him a home. When he was diagnosed with cancer, the cat never left his side.

Meet Ginja Ninja and his best friend, Paeton.

The ginger cat found his way into a boy's heart, when the feline came looking for food. "He had been abandoned and was skinny and filthy. It was just over 4 years ago and my son Paeton brought him off of the street," Mel Morrow told Love Meow. "My son insisted we keep him."

"Look mum, he's dirty and hungry. We have to help him and we should keep him after," Paeton said to his mom.

The family from Australia already had several cats so they planned to care for the kitty until they could find him a home, but that soon changed.

"We took him to the vet the next morning and they said he didn't have a microchip." The vet offered a choice to take the cat to the shelter, but they decided otherwise. "We took him home and introduced him to the other cats and our boxer."

But life took a different turn for Paeton a couple of years later...

The ginger kitty would stay by his side, guarding him every step of the way.

"This year in February just before Paeton's 12th birthday Nin and our boxer Gwen started hovering over him and wouldn't leave him alone," Morrow told Love Meow.

Two weeks later, he was diagnosed with Burkette's Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. "As soon as Paeton sat on the couch Nin was right there and would lay with him," Morrow said.

"Ginja ninja stayed with my son the whole time after he got home from having chemo until he went back 6 days later."

The kitty kept purring aloud while lying with his human as if he was trying to comfort Paeton and help him heal.

Over the next several months, Ninja showered his best friend with love, purrs and snuggles. "Paeton has been in remission for 3 months now, Nin and Gwen still sleep with him every night," Morrow told Love Meow.

The ginger kitty who weighed just 2.4kg (5lbs) when they found him, is now 7kg (15lbs), a healthy, handsome cat.

Every day he tells his family how grateful he is, and he will be there for Paeton just like how he was there for him.

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