Man spots a kitten outside his garage and realizes he’s a tiny different

Last June, Joshua Hiebert was cleaning his garden in Tampa, Florida, when he noticed someone nestled in his driveway.

When he was walking back to the house, he noticed this little lump of orange kitty sitting by their garage door. He was lying in the sun on the concrete, and it was about 90 degrees outside.

Hiebert looked around the area, but the kitten’s mother was nowhere to be seen, so he quickly took a video to show it to his husband, Jose Tortolero. Hiebert knew there was a colony of feral cats living in his neighborhood and tried to be kind to them when they were around.

@mr.gardeners Good Vibes only for Whiskers, please 🙌🏻 #kitten #rescue #blindkitten #fingerscrossed #whiskers ♬ Calm LoFi song(882353) — S_R

As soon as Hiebert opened the garage door, the kitten scrambled inside and cowered in a corner. He was very weak and couldn’t even lift his head, and they realized he wasn’t communicating with them.

@mr.gardeners When we realized our kitten was blind. 😭 He’s a tough boy though, and he’s thriving now! #blindkitten #kitten #kittenrescue #kittensoftiktok ♬ Dreamy — Elijah Lee

When Hiebert and Tortolero offered the kitten a bowl of water, they noticed that he dipped his paw into the water and touched it before drinking, as if checking its depth. Then they realized that the little orange kitten was blind.

@mr.gardeners Whiskers Update! Thank you for the positive Vibes 🙌🏻 You’re all amazing. ❤️ #kitten #blindkitten #kittenrescue #fingerscrossed #whiskers ♬ Calm LoFi song(882353) — S_R

The couple rushed to the pet store for groceries and fed the kitten. He was named Whiskers. They took Whiskers to the vet. He was prescribed eye drops, eye lubricant and antibiotics

Although his eyes began to get better after treatment, he was almost fully blind, seeing only changes in light and movement.

Now 6 months old, Whiskers is an energetic and independent kitten who loves to play with his dads and 2 dog brothers.

Although Whiskers still has some healing and growing to do, he is happy as long as he has one of his dads by his side. And Hiebert and Tortolero are grateful to share their lives and home with him.

«We love him very much,» Hiebert said. «He’s definitely part of our family.»