In October in 2021, Annie Rahe was in her local Walmart getting some groceries, when she wanted to sneak a peek at the Christmas décor they had to offer. Along the holiday aisle she went, pushing her cart, her shopping took a much unexpected turn. It is there that she saw a black and white kitten, asleep between the wooden pallets, without any owners.
The woman found a sales person and inquired after the kitten, and in an interview, the woman had this to say: “He informed me that [the kitten] had been dumped in the Walmart parking lot and kept sneaking into the store and hiding under the pallets. I don’t know exactly how long he was there, but the worker told me that others had tried to coerce him out.” The woman then abandoned what she came to do, and went straight to the pet supplies aisle to buy a can of kitten food.
The woman also says: “He was so tiny and dirty — the thought of him being there alone destroyed my heart. I wasn’t leaving without him.” When she put the can of food on the floor, the kitten dashed to it and started scarfing it down, and the food had distracted the kitten long enough for the woman to grab hold of it. In her interview, she also said: “I was able to round up a box from a dumpster. I also used another piece of flimsy cardboard as the lid until I could get back to the pet aisle to pick up a carrier to secure Wally in. I spent about 45 to 50 minutes just trying to gain his trust, because initially he climbed out of the box and my cart, and I had to catch him a second time. It made for a chaotic situation.”
Although the woman came to Walmart intending to buy groceries, she ended up loading up her car and leaving with a kitten and kitten supplies. When they reached home, Annie named the kitten Wally, and she gave him a much needed bath and another meal, until finally, the kitten fell asleep with a full belly. Although Wally is very much underweight for his age, he is healthy, and in love with his new family and home.
The woman also added, saying: “He is a happy little guy who purrs immediately when I enter the room. I have to walk carefully around him because he is always right under my feet. He is very playful with all of his new toys, and he is wonderful about using his box and scratching post!”
Although Wally is not fully vaccinated yet, when he is done, and had gotten all his treatment, he will be introduced to his cat and dog siblings. Wally’s human mom is sure that the little kitten would get into his siblings hearts as easily as he did with her. Although Rahe wasn’t planning to adopt a kitten when she went to buy groceries, they say that the best gifts are always free.
