Man Makes 21-Hour Round-Trip Drive to Rescue Cat With Feline Leukemia

A man living in Central Illinois who fell in love with a cat over Reddit made the 21-hour round-trip journey to rescue the feline.

Joshua first learned about Ash, a charcoal Bengal mix, from a veterinary technician who made several Reddit posts about his condition and illness. Ash has feline leukemia virus (FeLV), which, according to an article from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, is one of cats’ most common and important infectious diseases, affecting between 2 and 3 percent of all cats in the United States and Canada. The virus can dramatically weaken a cat’s immune system and make it more susceptible to developing other potentially fatal diseases.

His uniqueness and unfortunate diagnosis started making him an “overnight feel-good sensation.” The posts Joshua saw on Reddit about Ash started gathering over 10,000 likes each. The cat was found wandering the streets in Dallas, where it is believed he contracted FeLV. But still, no one came forward to adopt him.

Cats with FeLV are typically harder to adopt because it is advised the infected feline live in a house with no other cats. There was interest, but those potential adopters already had cats living with them.

But that didn’t stop Joshua from wanting to bring the cat home. The fastest route would take him about 11 hours to get to Ash in Texas. He noted that he’s primarily a college student who has free time and loves traveling.

“Impromptu expeditions are my favorite,” he told Newsweek. “My wife and I are Choctaw and are members of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. We have family spread throughout Oklahoma and Texas, so we just decided it’d be a funny excuse to actually go all the way down there.”

It was a no-brainer, especially since he’s been caring for his mother, who “always wanted a Bengal cat.” Ash would fit right in because he only wanted to adopt one cat at a time, and with FeLV, he could be the only feline.

“I guess everything just kind of fell together at the perfect time,” he said.

Joshua’s Reddit post to the subreddit channel r/nowmycat shared a photo of Ash cozying up on the bed. He wrote in the caption that he considers himself a dog person, but he couldn’t be happier with Ash. It was well worth the 21-hour journey.

Reddit Reactions

Reddit users were in awe of his dedication to rescuing Ash. As of Tuesday, the October 17 post had received over 6,000 upvotes and 141 likes.

“Tears are being brought to my eyes right now. I love that Reddit connects people and animals like this. Thanks for giving him a home!” commented one user.

Another person commented, “‘Fell in love with his stupid face’ is such a cat owner statement LMAOO wishing you both the best!”

A third person wrote: “Thanks for giving Ash the home he deserves so he can be happy and warm, and loved of course.”

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