It was a scorching Labor Day afternoon in Nevada when two small pet carriers sat quietly on the sidewalk outside a strip mall.
A torn scrap of notebook paper fluttered on one of them, held in place by a single strip of tape.
Scrawled across the note were just a few heartbreaking words:
“I sorry. Good kitty girl. No $. Please help.”
Inside, a mama cat and her three kittens meowed desperately for someone — anyone — to notice them. Most nearby businesses were closed for the holiday. But fate stepped in at just the right moment.
A staff member from Homeward Bound Cat Adoptions happened to be locking up for the day when she spotted the carriers. Peering through the mesh, she saw four panting little faces staring back at her.
“We immediately brought the carriers inside our adoption center,” said Kimberly Wade, marketing manager for the rescue. “While they were panting and hot, they thankfully weren’t in an emergency situation.”
Once inside, the family cooled down quickly. It seemed they hadn’t been out long — but the stress and desert heat had clearly taken their toll.
A quick checkup confirmed that all four cats were healthy. Mama was a bit thin, as nursing moms often are, but otherwise in good shape.
“They’re all sweet and loving,” Wade said. “It’s clear they were with human caregivers and not living on the street.”
Though social and affectionate, Mama had no microchip — meaning there was no way to trace where she’d come from. She and her babies, roughly 7 weeks old, would need a foster home until the kittens were old enough to be weaned.
That’s when another small miracle happened.
Ellen Richter, a longtime Homeward Bound foster, happened to stop by the shelter that very moment to pick up medication for another pet.
“I do believe it was fate,” Richter said. “I had been trying to get to the shelter a few times that weekend, and my schedule was too chaotic.”
When she saw the abandoned little family, she didn’t hesitate. She brought them home.
At first, the kittens were terrified. They huddled in the back of their carrier, too scared to explore. But their young mama — whom Richter named Italia Ristretto — was full of life. Barely a year old herself, Italia loved to play, climb, and nuzzle into the people who had saved her.
Richter worried the babies might retreat even further once Italia went in for her spay surgery.
But to her delight, the kittens slowly began to come out of their shells.
“They actually did well,” she said. “As I started to sit in the room and talk to them, they climbed into my lap and sat beside me.”
Within a week, Italia was back at Homeward Bound for her spay and microchip appointment. She’ll soon be ready for adoption — a fresh start for a young cat who was once left behind with nothing but a note.
Her kittens, meanwhile, are thriving. “They’re still figuring out who they are,” Wade said. “But they’re silly, clumsy, curious, and playful.”
Richter often shares updates online — short, heartwarming clips of the kittens exploring her home and climbing up her shoulder. Two have grown bold and adventurous, while the smallest still needs reassurance.
“I wrap her in a blanket and hold her, talking softly and petting her gently,” Richter said. “She’s learning that humans are OK.”
Wade is grateful that everything aligned that day — that someone noticed, that someone cared, that help came just in time.
“If we weren’t there, and if no one came to their rescue, there’s no telling what kind of outcome they could have had,” she said.
Instead, this little family now has a future — one that’s warm, safe, and full of love.
To adopt Italia Ristretto or her kittens, visit Homeward Bound Cat Adoptions.
