A firefighter from Wheeling, West Virginia, unknowingly adopted six kittens after saving their mother’s life.
Even though Tom Haluscak says he would not describe himself as a cat person, he quickly embraced the cats after a search and rescue in January, which led to saving the lives of two cats from a structure fire, WTRF reported.
Haluscak adopted one of the cats and, at the time, thought he was just committed to taking care of one cat.
But as weeks went by, something seemed odd about his adopted companion.
“She got a little bigger and bigger, and I thought I was overfeeding her,” Haluscak said.
After he talked to the veterinarian, he learned the cat he adopted had been carrying a litter of six kittens in her belly. The cat gave birth nearly a week ago.
It was a big adjustment for Haluscak at first, but thankfully he could rely on people in his life to help him manage the changes.
“I think a lot of pet owners will tell you, and I wasn’t really much of a believer until I rescued her, but I didn’t rescue her. She rescued me,” he said.
Haluscak named the cat he rescued Whiskey. He plans to give all her kittens up for adoption except for one, so Whiskey can have some companionship.
Haluscak is not the only one to make an extraordinary rescue of an animal. A homeless man rescued all the animals in an Atlanta, Georgia, shelter last year after it caught fire, and earlier that year, a firefighter saved a California lion cub from a wildfire.