Minnesota Couple Finds Orange Kitten in Grocery Parking Lot

Avery and Eric Reneau were planning to wait months before getting their first cat together. The move from the West Coast to Minnesota had drained their savings, so they figured they'd get settled first, save up, then head to a shelter.

Then a tiny orange head peeked out from under a car at their local Hy-Vee grocery store.

"Eric saw over my seat that there was a kitten behind the front left wheel of the car next to us," Avery says. Before they could reach him, the scared kitten scrambled up into the car frame and disappeared.

What happened next turned a parking lot into an impromptu community event. Eric ran inside for help and Churu treats while Avery tried to coax the frightened kitten out.

The Hy-Vee staff made a store announcement to find the car owner. Meanwhile, strangers started gathering to help.

Eight people eventually showed up to rescue one tiny kitten. The general manager came out in his nice work clothes, employees left their posts, and passersby stopped to assist.

The car owner, a store employee, had no idea he'd driven a hitchhiker 20 miles from Faribault. Thankfully, the kitten was vocal and loud, making him easier to locate in the engine well.

When they finally pulled him free, the reality hit hard. He was covered in fleas, one eye sealed shut with infection, and painfully skinny.

Avery wrapped him in a blanket and rushed to Fairview Animal Medical Center, arriving just 30 minutes before closing. The starving kitten downed two treat packets on the way.

"I showed her his tiny little head, and she was like, 'You did! You did find a cat in the parking lot!'" Avery recalls. The vet confirmed severe fleas and bacterial conjunctivitis but otherwise good health for an 8-week-old kitten who'd clearly been on his own.

The couple debated whether they could afford to keep him. Their apartment was pet-friendly, but would they accept a cat with active fleas?

They decided to take him home for at least one night. At every store they stopped at for supplies, towels, food, and litter, employees had the same response: "You have to keep it. It's the Cat Distribution System."

Sunny's Take

By the next morning, Avery and Eric had accepted their fate. The music-loving couple named him Giuseppe "Juice" Verdi, fulfilling Avery's longtime dream of that particular name.

Now they joke about the day they went to the store and came home with orange Juice. Eight strangers came together without planning or hesitation to save a helpless creature from a tragic fate.

Sometimes you choose a cat, but more often, the cat chooses you.