A kitten was grateful to the person who found him waiting on the back of a truck for help.
Mary Chromek (@fosterpurrs), an animal rescuer based in AL, was out caring for community cats when she spotted a disheveled kitten crying out at a junkyard.
“When I heard a meow replying to me, I was caught off guard. I followed the meow and ended up seeing a little dirty ginger fluff-ball sitting on the back of a truck,” Mary told us.
“I made my way down there, and could see the kitty was in rough shape and just a kitten. He did not seem feral, just a bit scared. He would stay out of arms’ reach, but kept meowing at me.”
The kitten was crying at the top of his lungs but too timid to approach the rescuer. Mary set up a humane live trap in hopes of getting him to safety that day.
The hungry ginger boy couldn’t resist the smell of food and walked right in. “I quickly got him. He was starving, greasy and dingy.”
The cat, Riff Raff (named after a cartoon character from The Catillac Cats), was a bit nervous at first, howling in the carrier. But things began to change when he settled into his new space inside a comfortable home.
He quickly warmed up to his rescuer and even turned on his purr motor. “As soon as I got him home, he was so grateful to be safe.”
“Right away, he let me start working on cleaning him up. He was filthy and matted, and had burrs in his fur,” Mary shared with us.
“I suspect he may have been accidentally brought in to the junkyard while he was hiding in one of the cars, because he was not feral like the other cats there, and none of us had seen him before.”
Mary gave Raffy a shave-down, removed all the burrs, filled his empty belly with good food, and provided a comfy nest for him to catch up on some sleep.
“He was so hungry that he scarfed down two cans of food as well as some extra dry food.”
Raffy was overjoyed to be indoors and would never have to spend another day outside. He snuggled up to his rescuer and filled the room with his rumbling purrs.
“He would gaze into my eyes with such a look of gratitude. He would rub his face all over my face and just purr away.”
With proper medical care, Riff Raff was nursed back to health and his personality began to shine.
“He stayed in foster care for a while with me, and he was always such a great boy. He is on the quiet side and can be a little shy with new people at first, but he is a huge lover,” Mary told us.
The junkyard kitten has blossomed into a gorgeous, fluffy cat with a penchant for cuddles and a purr motor that runs constantly.
When he was ready for adoption, a loving family fell head over heels for Raffy, and it was the perfect match.
“He was adopted into a wonderful family with two other cats that Raffy adores,” Mary shared.
“I really could not have asked for a better home for him. They kept his name as Riff Raff but call him Raffy like I often did.”
Now, Raffy enjoys having daily conversations with his forever mom and follows her everywhere around the house. He gets along beautifully with his feline siblings, especially his look-alike brother.
