With her son in the car, Alex da Ponte had just entered the McDonald’s drive-through when she saw a little orange cat attempting to enter vehicles. She looked at the cat for a while to check if perhaps she belonged to someone close after noticing that it was wearing a collar, but she soon realized the cat was by herself.

“I pulled out of the drive-through line and into a parking spot,” da Ponte told The Dodo. “From the parking spot, I watched two other families try to dodge the cat as they came back to their cars … That’s when I decided to get her. No one else was helping her, and she clearly needed help. She was desperate to get into a car.”

The cat responded to Da Ponte’s call by running over without pausing. This was the family she had been seeking for, she could tell.

She was ready to leave that parking lot, according to da Ponte.

Once they were all safely in the car, da Ponte’s son decided to name the cat Seats. The little cat wasn’t nervous at all and quickly made herself at home in the car, cuddling with da Ponte’s son, looking out the window and exploring her new surroundings.

“She was completely at ease in the car,” da Ponte said.

When the dinner came, she even snatched a french fry since she was feeling so cozy. Within minutes, Seats the McDonald’s cat had da Ponte and her kid utterly smitten.

After they returned home, da Ponte helped Seats settle in and started looking for a foster home for her. When their neighbors offered to take her, they quickly developed feelings for her as well.

“They foster failed big time and have adopted her,” da Ponte said. “So Seats is now our neighbor!”

From the moment da Ponte saw Seats, she knew she needed help, and now looking back, she’s so glad that she stopped to welcome her into the car.