Stray Black Kitten Falls Asleep on Rescuer’s Shoulder on Drive To Foster Home
Appleseed the rescue kitten formed an immediate connection with her foster mom. 
madison-pincombe-headshot By Madison Pincombe October 26, 2020 Advertisement Pin FB More Tweet Email Send Text Message Print 
long-haired black kitten sitting on a perch Credit: Courtesy of Holly Brookhouser
Holly Brookhouser was shopping for groceries when she randomly checked her Facebook. It was there she spotted a post about a fluffy black kitten from another Arkansas resident nearby.
The man wrote that he had turned down a busy road in Bentonville when he saw the kitten run across the road and stop under his car. He slammed on the brakes, jumped out, grabbed the kitten, and rushed home. According to Brookhouser, the caption that accompanied the photo of the kitten read, “We don’t know what to do with her, free to a good home.”
Only 15 minutes later, Brookhouser picked up the tiny cat, who is now named Appleseed. Since then, Appleseed has greatly improved (no more fleas!) and is preparing to go to her permanent home.
No Stranger to Strange Kittens
The little kitty lucked out when Brookhouser spotted her photo. The animal lover has been working with rescued animals since 2010. Since then, she's gone from volunteering at a shelter to taking turns as a "foster parent" for both kittens and dogs. At the time she saw the Facebook post about Appleseed, Brookhouser says she was taking a break from fostering after having two back to back rounds of kittens. But the fluffy feline tugged on her heartstrings, and she quickly got to work.
She messaged the man explaining that she could get the kitten fully checked out and make sure she went to an approved home. Because the kitten was so tiny, Brookhouser feared for her health and wanted to make sure she was well taken care of. “I knew she looked too young to be passed on to a home that didn’t know what they were doing,” she says.
“Within 15 minutes of him posting, she was in my car,” Brookhouser says. Her 4-year-old son Marcelo had dozed off in the car as she went to pick up the kitten. He started to wake up when she brought the kitten back to the car. She says his first question upon waking up was, “Is that another cat?”
A Special Day Made Even Sweeter
As it just so happens, the date (October 1, 2020) was also Marcelo’s two-year adoption anniversary. As a special way to commemorate the day, she gave him the honor of naming the kitten. The child came up with an adorable name for the tiny black cat: Appleseed. “I don’t think I’ll ever think of a better name than that," says Brookhouser. Where'd he find his inspiration? “He started thinking really hard and just said ‘Appleseed!’”
On the car ride home, Appleseed curled up on Brookhouser’s shoulder, where she promptly fell asleep. “She was obviously exhausted from…whatever she had been through,” she says.
When Brookhouser first picked up Appleseed, she said the kitten was covered in fleas and noticeably underweight. During her time with the Brookhousers, who also goes by Paws of Oz on Instagram, the kitty has made a full recovery—and is starting to show off a sassy personality for their followers. “She’s just so brave,” Brookhouser says. “She walks around this house like she owns it.”
A Future Filled With Love
The Brookhousers—who have three dogs, five cats (including another rescue cat they're fostering), a hedgehog, and a rabbit—only have a few weeks left with Appleseed before she goes to her forever family. The kitten has already been adopted by a family in California, who is flying to Arkansas at the beginning of November to pick her up. “They have fallen in love with her,” Brookhouser says.
You can follow Appleseed as well as Brookhouser’s continued rescue efforts on Instagram and Facebook. The animal lover uses social media to keep followers updated and for help finding the perfect home for rescue pets.
“I’ve got this team literally from around the world that will hold me up and help me get the vetting done,” she says.
