A food delivery rider, Israel Nungay won the hearts of the internet after he took home a stray kitten that approached him while he was waiting for a booking for nearly two hours.
Nungay, a 27-year-old GrabFood rider, shared on TikTok that an orange-and-white kitten came to him while he was waiting for a job order in his regular spot.
Nungay played with the kitten for 30 minutes. However, when he received a booking and tried to leave, he noticed that the kitten appeared to cry and even climbed into his motorbike, latching onto his foot.
“He clung on to me like he wanted to come with me,” Nungay said in his video.
He canceled the booking and requested a carton box from a nearby store to transport the kitten. Nungay then took the kitten home and introduced it to his pet dog named Sugar. He cleaned the kitten and named it Salty.
Nungay’s TikTok video documenting the adoption gained 1.3 million views and over 245,000 likes. It was also shared on a Facebook page, where it garnered 34,000 likes and love reactions, as well as 319,000 views.
Five days later, Nungay provided an update on Salty in another TikTok video. Unfortunately, the kitten managed to escape from his house and was found weak in their neighbor’s place.
The rider brought Salty back home but noticed that the kitten remained could no longer stand. Unable to find an open veterinary clinic, Nungay expressed his helplessness in the situation.
“During this time, I didn’t know what to do but there were no open veterinary clinics. I tried to make him survive, but it was too late,” he said in the video.
With a heavy heart, Nungay placed Salty in a carton box and bid farewell to the kitten, expressing his gratitude for the few days they had together.
The rider’s compassion and efforts were praised by the online community, commending him for his kind gesture despite the kitten’s short life.
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