An animal rescuer received a strange call when she was asked to save a family of kittens who had been born in a Home Depot store flowerpot.
Kamila, from Tampa, Florida, volunteers with St. Francis Society Animal Rescue as a foster carer and trapper, and she received a call from a Home Depot employee looking for help.
The employee explained that a customer had passed on Kamila’s number, as a stray cat had given birth in the garden section and they needed help immediately.
When Kamila arrived, she discovered the mother cat lying in a shaded area, exhausted, looking over at the shelves where the flowerpots were.
Kamila said she felt like the mom, who had given birth in the heat, was trying to guide her towards her babies.
The rescuer’s first plan was to trap the mother cat, and so she asked customers to pause to give her the space.
Having manually closed the top of a trap – after some initial difficult – Kamila then worked on safely removing the kittens from the flowerpot, in a series of events that she captured on video and shared on social media.
The following day, Kamila received a call that three orphaned kittens had been found in a nearby car dealership with no mother, and so Kamila introduced them to the Home Depot mom, who accepted them immediately.
Since the rescue, the kittens have been placed in a foster home under St. Francis Society Animal Rescue, before being placed for adoption.
Kamila said: “I received a call to say there was a stray cat who had just given birth in the garden section.
“It felt a little surreal hearing that, but at the same time, it was one of those moments where everything just aligned, and I knew I had to go right away.
“I set up a trap to safely catch the mom first, but it wasn’t triggering properly.
“With customers and carts moving around, I had to gently ask people to pause and give us a moment.
“It was a bit chaotic, but also oddly heartwarming how everyone was willing to help.
“I ended up taking my shoes off and quietly approaching from behind to manually close the trap.
“Thankfully, I was able to secure her safely.
“After that, I located the kittens inside the flowerpot and got them out safely.
“There was this sense of relief all around — people watching, employees, everyone — and for a moment, it felt like we were all part of something small but really meaningful.”
