Man Finds ‘Helpless’ Kitten Covered In Ants During Walk—Instantly Helps Him

A man left cat people in tears after sharing the heartbreaking sight of a tiny stray kitten he found curled up outside, covered in ants and fleas.

Every day during his lunch hour, Julio Alonso, 44, goes for a walk near his office in Anaheim, California. While there isn’t usually much that catches his eye, last week he was confronted by a small kitten on a bridge overpass who was “just helpless” by the time it was found.

Alonso, who lives in Tustin, Orange County, told Newsweek that he “couldn’t believe that it was a real kitten.” The feline had ants crawling all over its face and didn’t even have the strength to remove them, so Alonso knew he had to help.

His original TikTok post about the kitten’s plight and updates on the animal’s journey back to health and happiness after Alonso took it to a shelter have generated up to 3.9 million views.

One TikTok commenter wrote: “Thank you for not just leaving him out there to suffer.”

Alonso had gone past the same building on his walk the day prior and didn’t see the kitten, so he believes it had been there for less than a day by the time he found it at 11 a.m.

He said: “His face was covered with ants and his underbelly was covered in fleas. It was disturbing to see that he wasn’t even trying to fight the ants anymore. I’m guessing they had been attacking him for hours.”

He filmed the kitten, which he temporarily named Tux after its black and white markings, and sent the footage to his co-worker, Michelle, a huge animal lover who has adopted many pets. She too was horrified and rushed to help.

“I called Michelle to tell me what I could do, and I showed her the video so she could see how small the kitten was,” Alonso continued, also saying he wasn’t sure if the animal was male or female, but referring to it as “he.” “We didn’t know what his condition would be like, if he was injured, frail, or have a fracture. He was covered in ants, and Michelle picked him up by the neck and brought him into the office.”

Once they had the kitten safe inside, they bathed it to wash the ants and fleas off its body and gave it some food. When it was in better shape, Michelle took it to Orange County Animal Care, a shelter that provides medical care for lost or stray animals and helps find their forever homes.

The shelter named the kitten Trick, and diagnosed and treated an upper respiratory infection.

“He also showed signs of feral behavior, so at first they weren’t sure if he could be put up for adoption,” Alonso, who kept in touch with the shelter, told Newsweek. “But after a couple of days, he was registered for adoption on Friday night. And by the Saturday morning, he’d already been adopted.”

Social Media Reaction

After finding the kitten during his walk, Alonso shared the heartbreaking footage on TikTok (@juliusmaximus5) and it went viral, with more than 250,800 views and 36,000 likes.

Social media users were left in tears by the clip, and many pleaded for updates. Alonso, astounded by the response online, posted follow-up videos to explain what had happened to Trick, and assured his followers that the kitty had found its forever home. The subsequent clips amassed even more views, with one update generating over 3.9 million views and 504,700 likes on TikTok.

Trick’s journey from helplessness to happiness has captured plenty of attention online, leading to more than 700 comments on Alonso’s post.

One comment reads: “My heart, he was basically getting eaten alive.”

Another person added: “He was literally helpless I’m crying!”

“Poor baby. Thank you for helping,” wrote one TikTok user.

Alonso said the reaction had been overwhelming. “There’s been so many positive comments regarding the stray kitty, and many of my friends have even reached out to express how moved they were by the videos. Also, reading the comments on TikTok was very touching,” he added.

“This experience was very rewarding, as I learned about the humanity and effect that social media has on people. So many people were moved by this helpless animal, and it opened up many others to the idea of adopting a pet after seeing this.”

While he certainly wasn’t expecting to find a stray kitten during his daily walk, Alonso said he would never forget the experience. He is now hoping to become more involved in his local community and wants to help more animals in need.

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