Cats
Man goes fishing on river and reels in abandoned kittens
He was unsure how this baby animal ended up in the middle of the river.
Rachel Shapiro
10.27.21

One of the fun things about fishing is that you never know what you’re going to find. You could end up with the biggest catch you’ve ever seen — or you might not reel in anything. That mystery is part of the fun.

But two men named Jason Frost and Brandon Key ended up finding something very surprising on their trip: two lost baby kittens.

YouTube Screenshot
Source:
YouTube Screenshot

The friends were out fishing on Warrior River, in Alabama, when they saw something that completely shocked them.

Jason urged Brandon to record, and in the resulting video, he tells the audience, “Y’all are not going to believe what is swimming towards our boat…”

In an interview with ABC News, Jason explained, “We turned around and didn’t see anything, but a few minutes later, we saw something swimming above the surface getting closer and closer. Then I heard it meowing, and I could tell it was a cat. I was like, ‘Hey, Brandon, you need to record this.”

The video shows a baby tabby swimming towards the boat and meowing loudly. You hear Jason watching the kitten in disbelief as he mumbles, “Swimming in the river… Never in my life.” Jason can’t believe what he’s seeing as he leans over the boat, and pulls the wet, crying kitten, on board.

YouTube Screenshot
Source:
YouTube Screenshot

But, the fishermen get another surprise when they realize a second kitten is coming too!

“Is this not the craziest thing y’all have ever seen?” Jason asks the camera. He leans over the boat again, this time pulling the second orange tabby on board. “Are you kidding me? They’re twins!”

YouTube Screenshot
Source:
YouTube Screenshot

It’s unclear how the kittens arrived at the river.

Jason thinks that someone probably tried to get rid of them by leaving them nearby; there aren’t any houses for miles. He also thinks that they must have been very desperate for help if they had been willing to jump into the lake and swim up to a boatful of strangers.

The men continued fishing for another 3 hours before heading in.

Brandon told ABC News, “When we got back to shore, there was a family staring at us weird, probably wondering why we had cats on a boat when cats hate being wet. We told them the story and showed them the video. They really seemed interested in the kittens, so we let them take the kittens home.”

Facebook/Warrior and River
Source:
Facebook/Warrior and River

The men published their video on YouTube where it’s been viewed over 11 million times. Because the story got so much coverage, the kittens’ new owners created a Facebook page where people could get updates on them, if interested.

The kittens, who were named Warrior and River in honor of where they were found, have been vaccinated and fixed.

Now, they are beautiful and grown, enjoying the love of a family that they swam so hard to find.

Warrior and River/Facebook
Source:
Warrior and River/Facebook

“Nothing like this has ever happened to us,” Jason told ABC News. “If we didn’t have a video camera, nobody would’ve ever believed us.”

We’re so glad Jason and Brandon found these cats and that they were also able to find a good home for them. We may not know how Warrior and River ended up in the water, but thankfully they’re doing well now.

Check out Jason and Brandon’s viral video below!

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