A kitten showed up on a patio one day and just kept coming back.
Marc and Beata from Illinois saw a haze of fur run across their patio this summer — it was a stray kitten, all alone and extremely shy.
"He came since we had a bowl of water out there. Initially, he was scared of humans so we kept our distance but left out some food for him," Beata told Love Meow.
While trying to win him over, the couple kept an eye out for any other siblings and a mother cat. The next day, the kitten returned, scrounging for food.
They gladly obliged to his request. The hungry stray chomped down on the food while checking his human friends every few bites. He was cautious but began to let his guard down.
Over the next couple few days, he warmed up to the couple as he realized they meant well, and would come running and beg for food when they went outside.
The couple discovered that he had been living in the bushes directly outside their house.
"He became more and more comfortable with us, but not other people. If our neighbors came by he would disappear into the bushes," Beata said.
The kitten became very friendly with Beata and her husband and decided he would move in with them. "At that point, he would try to sneak into the house every time we opened the patio door."
After they confirmed that he was an only kitten and didn't belong to anyone, they knew it was meant to be.
They picked up a cat carrier, some toys and a playpen, and named the kitten Smucci. A vet visit later, he settled right into his new abode as an indoor cat.
"Soft blankets and carpet are his favorites after growing up outside."
The couple had a dog named Haruki. They began to slowly introduce them through a playpen.
Watch Smucci in this cute video:
"Smucci figured out how to get out of the playpen very quickly. Now a few weeks later, the two of them are very good friends," Beata told Love Meow.
"He loves to play with his dog brother, chase cat toys, perch in his cat tree or window seat and sleep with us in bed."
Despite being the smallest in the house, Smucci rules the roost.
The former stray found a couple who was kind to him, and they became his forever family!
"Now, he eats dinner with us instead of alone."
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