Sam was driving home on a chilly April evening when a flash of movement inside a small car dealership caught her attention. She found it odd since the gate was locked, the showroom was dark and the workers had already gone home for the evening. But as a seasoned
animal rescuer, Sam couldn’t shake the feeling that someone inside needed help.
So, the driver pulled over and called out to whoever was hiding in the lot of parked cars. That’s when a small white-and-tan cat appeared on the other side of the chain-link fence, meowing.
Sam quickly grabbed a can of cat food from her car and coaxed the kitten over. Within minutes, the cat crawled underneath the chain-link fence and ran towards Sam.
The skinny, dirt-covered cat scarfed down every bite of food as though she hadn’t eaten in days. Sam had cared for countless stray cats over the years, but her experience told her this one wasn't like the others.
“I knew from the moment she came over, she wasn’t feral,” Sam told The Dodo in a recent video.
It’s unclear exactly where the cat had come from and how long she’d been on her own, but Sam knew she couldn’t leave her out there any longer.
Once the cat finished eating, Sam gently scooped her up and tried to place her inside a carrier. The cat didn’t mind being held, but she refused to go in the crate. So, Sam improvised.
“I just put her in the passenger seat, and she was completely fine,” Sam said.
Sam drove the cat, whom she named Adeline, straight to the vet. There, doctors discovered that Adeline was spayed, which further convinced Sam that she wasn’t a stray after all.
“[It] makes me think even more so she was abandoned,” Sam said. “Because she was just too friendly.”
You can see more footage from her rescue here:
Thankfully, Adeline was generally healthy despite being underweight. So, Sam agreed to foster her and help find her a loving forever family.
Adeline quickly settled into her foster home with Sam's three cats. While Sam had fallen in love with the sweet girl, she knew Adeline would be happiest in a quieter home. So she searched for the right family until she eventually found the perfect one.
“This amazing couple ended up coming to meet her at my house, and now she has a forever home,” Sam said.
Once left to fend for herself in a dark, cold car dealership, Adeline is now the queen of her castle, soaking up all the love her new parents have to give. And her beloved rescuer, Sam, couldn’t be happier to see Adeline living the life she’s always deserved.
“I love getting the updates,” Sam said. “It’s like they’re all my babies.”
