All people in this world have certain plans for their future. Some will plan five to ten years in advance, while others will go one day at a time. Some people’s plans will be about finishing college, getting a job, or starting a family, while others will be wondering about their tomorrow’s meals.
All in all, planning is a crucial part of human life, and without it, a person doesn’t live but merely exists.
But, what happens when the plans we make get interrupted by unexpected things?
Imagine this: You are living alone in an apartment in a big city. You come home, and enter your room, only to find a cat under your bed who just gave birth to her four kittens.
Of course, you’re baffled, not only because of the whole cat with kittens situation, but because that cat isn’t even yours. You have never owned a cat, and now all of a sudden you have five of them!
This may sound surreal to you, but this is exactly what happened to Paris Zarcilla, a London-based film director and writer.
A few years ago, in 2018 to be precise, a pregnant kitty sneaked into Zarcilla’s home, desperately looking for a safe shelter to give birth to her kittens. Zarcilla planned that day to go and run some errands, so he went into his room for a sweater only to learn that his initial plans will have to change.
Not only did he have to reschedule running those errands, but he also had this huge responsibility to think about. Should he just take those cats outside and let them manage on their own? Should he contact his local shelter? Or put a picture on his social media in hopes someone might want to adopt them?
(Credit: @ParisZarcilla)
Or, should he play along with destiny’s plan and keep them for himself?
Luckily for all of us, Zarcilla decided to experience what it feels like to be a cat parent, and so he kept them. He immediately canceled everything and dedicated the rest of his day to planning his next move(s).
He obviously had no cat equipment, so he was literally starting from scratch. He did a very responsible thing, and he consulted the vet and other professionals, after which he introduced his Twitter friends to his new fluffy family.
Little did he know that the situation he had found himself in would surpass a simple post on Twitter and take the world by storm. Every cat lover in the world fell in love with his generosity and the felines he adopted.
The world wanted to know everything! Since the first post, Zarcilla has shared every minor update with his online friends. People were (and still are!) genuinely interested in how his pawmily is doing.
And it wasn’t all about sweet messages full of love and support on the internet. Zarcilla truly felt the generosity of complete strangers who, moved by this touching story and brave gesture of the young man, made several donations to help him in any way and make this new parenthood easier.
He received cat food, toys, trees, litter boxes, cat-related books, and pretty much anything you can think of that could help him in any way. Someone even launched a GoFundMe campaign to help them out, but it was soon stopped, but not for the reasons you might think.
The campaign ended not because it was illegal or anything like that, but because people were too generous and Zarcilla and his cats actually received more than enough stuff. How unbelievable is that, right?
(Credit: @ParisZarcilla)
His cats loved this abundance of attention, but most of all, they loved all the cardboard boxes the gifts came in. And Zarcilla loved them.
He said how they brought so much light into his life and how he intends to forever be the hero they deserve. And he truly is! Zarcilla also doesn’t plan on changing that any time soon.
Last May, they celebrated their four-year anniversary. He said that his cats are the best companions he could ever ask for. We are so beyond happy for all of them and are more than excited to see how their story will continue to roll.
It’s funny how life works. Zarcilla never planned on being a cat dad. Sure, the thought of it might have crossed his mind, but he never did anything intentionally to make it happen. Having a pet was a future probability for him. But one day, out of the blue, it became a reality.
So, don’t be too strict with your plans. Who knows, maybe a fluff of some sort might come into your life and change them completely.
