Rescue Cat Goes From Abandoned Kitten To Adventurous Beach Lover!

By: Adri Sandoval
Adri Sandoval is the Special Projects Manager for iHeartDogs and iHeartCats. Her work has deepened her love for animals, fostering a strong passion for rescue and animal advocacy.Read more
| October 3, 2017

Little Nathan – the female black cat – has come a long way in her short but adventurous life.

According to The Dodo, she was found at just a few weeks old, abandoned in a box on the side of a freeway with her sibling and mom. Luckily, she was rescued by the RSPCA, then adopted by a loving couple. That’s how she went from being a scared, defenseless abandoned kitten to a brave and fun-loving adventure cat!

As soon as she realized that her new parents were her forever family, Nathan loved and trusted them unconditionally. Wanting to make her life as full and fun as possible, they decided to see if their feline friend would enjoy spending time with them outside!

They began training Nathan to walk with a leash and harness, and once she was ready, they ventured to the beach nearby. At first, they weren’t sure how she’d react to the warm sand and water – but they were shocked when she loved it!

“The first time my partner Rian walked into the water; she wanted to stay with him and followed him into the water without any problem,” cat-mom Melissa Pietrobuono told The Dodo. “Initially she just wet her legs and body, would jump over a few little waves, and then we went deeper and deeper into the water and she would still follow, and now she swims.”

Now a beach regular, Nathan loves frolicking in the water with her humans. They let her off-leash, but she never strays far from their sides.

“Other than following us everywhere, she swims, keeps an eye [out] for dogs and any people around,” Pietrobuono said in the story. “She stares down seagulls, but hasn’t built up the courage to approach them yet. When the crabs come out, she chases them around also. But most of her time is following us around and getting wet.”

A post shared by Nathan the Beach Cat (@nathan_thebeachcat) on

And as for her unique, non-traditional name?

“We named her Nathan at first as a joke before we got her,” Pietrobuono explained to The Dodo. “Nathan is a character from a show my partner and I have watched called ‘Angry Boys.’ But once we brought her home, we actually quite liked the name and it stuck, despite not really being a girl’s name. It still makes us laugh sometimes and we can’t imagine her being named anything else.”

We’re so glad that this lucky black cat got adopted by a cool and loving couple who were able to bring out her adventurous side!

You can follow @nathan_thebeachcat on Instagram.

(h/t: The Dodo)