At first, Nick thought he'd spotted a tuft of wool, but as he moved closer, he realised it was a tiny, frightened kitten.
“This dude’s gonna be toast if I don’t take him in and do something with him,” Nick admitted in a TikTok video posted shortly after the discovery. “I don’t even know what to do with this. I don’t even know how old this thing is.”
'Not a cat person'
Despite insisting he was “not a cat person”, Nick knew he couldn’t just leave the vulnerable kitten alone in the field. The little creature, who would later be named Muscles, was hesitant at first but slowly began to warm up to her unlikely rescuer.
With no prior experience caring for kittens, Nick turned to the internet for advice. Guided by his TikTok followers, he picked up kitten milk and a tiny bottle and set about learning how to keep the fragile fluffball alive. At the time, he was sure it would be temporary, just until she was strong enough to be rehomed.
Muscles, however, had other ideas.
Devoted cat dad
Within days, Nick was waking up in the middle of the night to feed her, carrying her around in his coat pocket and introducing her to the chickens. Slowly but surely, the man who had once claimed no fondness for felines was becoming completely smitten.
Originally believed to be a boy, Muscles was later revealed to be a girl. She now goes by the full name Miss Muscles Dumpling and she’s officially part of the family.
“It’s funny how fast everything changed,” Nick said. “She’s just… part of my life now. I didn’t expect it, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
It’s been a few months since their unexpected encounter, and Miss Muscles Dumpling is thriving. Nick, once a self-proclaimed non-cat person, has been lovingly dubbed a “cat dad” by his TikTok audience, a title he now wears with pride.
