Atlas, a cat from Hawaii, was meowing and whining at the door of his house on a wet night in January. Sam Christie, the cat’s owner, assumed there was a stray animal around, as Atlas did whenever he felt another cat.
“It was really wet, and the roads were briefly flooded,” Christie told us. “I thought I heard a cat meowing outside, so I put on my shoes and grabbed a flashlight, crossed the street, and began searching.”
Atlas had been correct all along. Christie discovered a little, sopping wet cat that was just around 7 weeks old in a field of dense, tall grass.
Christie stated, “I grabbed for her, and she simply let me take her up straight away, and she never hissed or anything.” “She appeared to be overjoyed to be with someone else.” So I simply took her back across the street to my place and started cleaning her up.”
Christie was originally wary about having a kitten around, even if Atlas had warned her about it.
“All I did was bring her into the home and hold her up to Atlas, and he was like, ‘What the heck is that?’” Christie remarked.
But it didn’t take Atlas long to get up to the kitten, whom he called Nell, and adopt her as his own.
After all, Atlas had been homeless himself, so he may understand Nell’s plight. According to Christie, Atlas’s former owner donated Atlas, along with Atlas’s sibling and mother, to the Hawaii Island Humane Society when Atlas was just 3 weeks old.
Christie, a manager at the Hawaii Wildlife Center, came to the shelter seeking for a certain type of cat – one she could harness and take on excursions with. Atlas appeared to be a good match for the role.
“I wanted an adventurous cat who could go out on a leash and enjoy the outdoors with me while not contributing to the huge problem of free roaming cats killing billions of species each year,” Christie remarked. “I chose [Atlas] because of his courageous and outspoken nature,” says the narrator.
And Christie was right about Atlas: he took to the collar and leash right away, and he enjoyed exploring the outside world.
“He was a natural,” Christie added, “and ecstatic to experience the outdoors.” “He gets all psyched up and wants to go when he’s wearing the harness.” It’s a fantastic opportunity for him.”
