A Reddit user has gone viral after appealing for someone to offer one cat a loving home, after his owner moved out and left him behind, and the internet was quick to answer the call.
The Reddit poster, who goes by the name Zepla, was told by a woman in her apartment complex that Gizmo “had been abandoned” in February. However, he was still waiting by the door for his owner to return. The poor cat had no idea that he had been abandoned, and Zepla immediately sprang into action as she tried to build trust with Gizmo and see if he would come to her.
Zepla told Newsweek that “a cat in danger is an all hands-on deck emergency” in her eyes. She couldn’t bear the thought of him suffering in the cold outside, so she continued trying to get his attention and leaving food out for him, in the hope that he would gradually come closer.
“I found him sitting outside his owner’s back door as he’d been trained to meow at the door to come inside. Heartbreakingly, he was still there, asking to be let inside by someone who wasn’t there, who was never coming back,” Zepla said.
Fearing the worst for Gizmo, Zepla posted about the cat on Reddit (u/Zepla) asking for help from fellow cat lovers. Sure enough, the post went viral, and thousands of people offered to help, and one person came out to set up cat traps so they could finally get hold of Gizmo.
Gizmo continued to evade Zepla for a few nights at first, but eventually she captured him and got him to safety. However, thanks to the Reddit post gaining more than 42,000 votes in a matter of days, Zepla was inundated with offers from people who were happy to give Gizmo a loving home.
Zepla would have loved to have kept him herself, but she is relocating to Florida in a matter of weeks, and suddenly moving the cat so far away didn’t seem right.
Zepla said: “I had many people reach out offering to take him in. But as a cat owner myself, I know that there’s a lot that goes into caring for an animal, beyond the sentimentality of it all. I wanted to be certain that he would never be abandoned again.”
Doing her due diligence, Zepla interviewed numerous candidates as she wanted to be sure that Gizmo would find his forever home. She asked an abundance of questions that some people felt were too personal, but Zepla felt that the right candidate would “understand the reasoning” for being so thorough.
How Did Social Media React?
Eventually, Reddit helped her find the perfect new owner for Gizmo, and she had even set up a room in her home just for the cat.
“The best candidate for him lives about an hour away, and I called her as soon as he was caught,” Zepla told Newsweek. “All in all, it looks like he is settling in well and is a lovable cat who was thoughtlessly disposed of.
“His former owner treated him like trash, and he deserves so much more than that. I’ve done everything in my power to make sure he gets the happy, secure life he deserves.”
Many Reddit users were outraged about Gizmo’s abandonment, but among the 2,100 comments on the post, there was also plenty of praise for Zepla’s determination to help.
One comment reads: “I am heartbroken looking at that poor sweet little face. I’m so glad OP [original poster] cares and I’m so glad people have put their hands up to collect puss and give him a loving home. People who abandon their pets are disgusting.”
Another Reddit user wrote: “Little baby. You deserve so much more than someone who leaves without you.”
A third person responded: “Thank you for your kindness.”