A stray cat mom has gone viral for taking all of her newborn kittens to stay with her human friend who has been feeding her and giving her water for a while.

The person taking care of her, who goes by the username u/catnip4sale, shared a video of the cat bringing one of her babies to their home on Reddit, captioned: "I met a friendly stray about two weeks ago, gave her food and water, and showed her how to get to my bedroom window. Today, she brought me all 4 of her newborn kittens."

In the post, which since Tuesday has so far reached over 80,000 upvotes and 1,500 comments, u/catnip4sale explained that after feeding and and giving some water to the cat, they established a bond and the cat felt safe to bring all four of her kittens to their home.

In further comments, they also explained that they're now taking care of all the cats, and a previous one they had in the house, making them the owner of not one but six cats.

The original poster told Newsweek that the cat mother originally belonged to an evicted nightmare tenant, who wasn't allowed to have pets in the house. When they learned the cat, whose name is Miso, was pregnant they said: "I inquired about the kittens and he told me he had found homes for all of the kittens. Apparently he lied and just [abandoned] them."

According to u/catnip4sale, the kittens were born at some point in the late fall, most likely around the September. In December, when it was minus 20 degrees outside, they heard some distressed meowing and decided to have a look. "After locating the cat and chasing her around the complex, I had to army crawl underneath my apartment complex to get the kittens."

They decided to look after the kittens, feeding them regularly and giving them a safe spot. That's when they decided to put a collar on the cat mom's neck and just double-check she didn't belong to anyone. After a few days of absence, Miso returned to her trusted human and they taught her how to jump into their bedroom window. Then one night after a spooky storm she decided to one by one bring all her kittens to her safe place, the original poster's bedroom.

The kittens are now all fine and well taken care of by a friend of u/catnip4sale, who they say is experienced in nursing kittens. They will be re-homed after being neutered/spayed and checked for any disease. Once the kittens find a loving permanent home, Miso will live with u/catnip4sale and their cat, in the house she grew up in.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approximately 3.4 million cats enter animal shelters nationwide every year.

Approximately 1.4 million cats are euthanized and about 1.3 million shelter cats are adopted. Of the cats entering shelters, approximately 37 percent are adopted, 41 percent are euthanized and less than 5 percent who come in as strays are returned to their owners.

The Reddit community was delighted and amused by the video. One user, TheCyberClaws said: "I hear that's how you get cats." OkRefrigerator4361 commented: "I have 2 that I am trying to bribe into loving me but [they] are not there yet."

Modsarefascists42 added: "Start feeding a starving stray and pretty soon you have a new dependant who insists on sleeping in your bed and whines when you close any door." And Dick_snatcher joked: "I see you've met me ex."

TheDevilsAdvokaat commented on behalf of the cats: "We live with you now. Is better." And Divio42 joked: "You're going to need a bigger litter box."

Another user, cantthinkofgoodname. reflected on how clever cats are: "Think about how cats have evolved to essentially trick humans to providing food and shelter simply by appealing to the human."

RNGD18 joked: "Sounds like your cat investment is up 500%!" And Topcity36 said: "Time to go buy some more pet related stocks."

Update 5/13/22, 7:36 a.m. EDT: This article has been updated to include more information and comments from u/catnip4sale.

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