He dropped everything to help.
College student Carter Taylor was spending the day kayaking and fishing when he overheard someone mention that a cat appeared to be trapped somewhere in the middle of the water.
Taylor immediately left his fishing gear on the bank and paddled out to investigate.
As he approached a tree rising from the water, he began hearing tiny cries.
Then he finally saw her.
A small kitten was clinging to the tree with no obvious way to make it safely back to shore.
Worried that she might panic and fall into the water, Taylor paddled toward her as quickly and carefully as he could.
The moment his kayak came within reach, the kitten seemed to understand that help had arrived.
She jumped aboard and immediately climbed onto Taylor, crying and clinging to the person who had just rescued her.
With the kitten finally safe, Taylor began paddling back toward shore.
She wasted no time making herself comfortable, cuddling against him for the entire ride as though she had already decided he was someone she could trust.
Once they reached land, Taylor called his girlfriend and asked her to come pick up their unexpected passenger.
The couple later named the kitten Lucky — a fitting name considering where she had been found.
They gave Lucky food, cleaned her up and helped her settle into a safe place.
Their dog, Rigley, also seemed delighted by the surprise arrival and welcomed the tiny kitten with plenty of affection.
The following day, Lucky was taken to a veterinarian for a complete examination.
Despite the frightening experience she had endured, she was found to be in relatively good health. She was prescribed antibiotics and sent home to continue recovering.
By then, Taylor and his girlfriend had already become attached.
What had started as a spontaneous rescue was quickly turning into a permanent arrangement.
“Looks like I have been chosen,” Taylor later wrote on TikTok.
The couple ultimately decided Lucky was staying with them.
Taylor had set out expecting nothing more than a quiet day of kayaking and fishing.
Instead, he returned home with a kitten who had somehow ended up stranded in the water — and who now had a safe home, a loving family and even a canine sibling waiting for her.