Shelter cat gets last-second rescue from death row, and can't stop kissing the woman who saved him

It’s always wonderful when people adopt animals from shelters, but it’s even better when they’re rescued from a kill shelter. These animals deserve a chance at life and a loving home rather than being put down just because there’s no space for them.

And sometimes rescue animals seem to just know that they’ve been saved, and are forever thankful to the people who adopted them. That was the case for one cat who was swept from death row at the last second, and knew just how to show his gratitude.

Adelle, from Newcastle, Australia, is a volunteer at Cat Rescue Newcastle, a group that rescues cats from local pounds.

In 2016, they got a call about a cat named Henry, who spent his days living in a cold cage. After a long time of waiting for a forever home, he was set to be euthanized.

Unfortunately, all the shelters in the area were full, including Cat Rescue Newcastle. But they weren’t willing to let this cat die, and a foster carer named Michelle stepped up to take Henry in.

Now it was only a matter of getting Henry to safety before Friday, when he was set to be put down. With the clock ticking, Adelle stepped up to transport Henry from the shelter to Michelle’s.

With just hours to spare, she saved Henry from the shelter and had him safely in her car, on the way to his new foster home. After all the stress he went through, Adelle decided to let him out of his carrier and let him roam around the car.

That’s when he did something incredible.

“The moment I opened his cat carrier, Henry walked up onto my shoulder and gave me the most heartwarming kitty kiss I had ever received since becoming a foster carer,” Adelle wrote in a post for Animal Rescue Site.

As if he knew he was being rescued, Henry went over to Adelle and gave her plenty of thank you kisses—proof that the group’s life-saving mission didn’t go unnoticed.

“The love and affection he displayed was breathtaking and I just knew in my heart that he knew what had just happened,” Adelle wrote. “He was finally rescued and this was his way of saying ‘thank you.'”

“This is what we live for at CRN!”