Little did photographer Steve Hamel realize it would be the beginning of a great trip when he worked on his jeep in his garage in late December of last year. Steve saw a wonderful, friendly cat in his garage, and as he didn’t have any cats, he naturally concluded she was missing and went in search of safety.

Steve saw the red-haired cat had joined him in the garage as he was inspecting the vehicle. The cat entered the jeep calmly, as if she knew exactly what she was doing, and it appears that she wanted to share her extensive cat knowledge.

Steve stated:

“Just trying to have my Jeep fixed. I’m not even a cat person.”

Although he had no idea where the orange kitten could come from, Steve fell in love immediately, and of course the cunning kitten made sure to get his attention, climbing on his shoulders for a sweet snuggle. She stood right there on her shoulders to spin around and get to know the place as if Steve were her royal carriage.

He thoroughly examined the Jeep after surveying the situation from atop a tow truck. He stopped at a toolbox and claimed it as his new bed after making sure everything was in order, which caught Steve off guard.

They checked the kitten, but they did not find a collar or a microchip to find her family, and they also went to ask her neighbors if anyone knew her.

“If we are not successful, we will keep the cat. It’s a great love.”

The little daughter of the man decided to name the cat Sally, and the whole family was in love with the sweet girl. They hurriedly bought some supplies and a small plaque with her name on it.

An enthusiastic Steve added:

“Sally loves hanging out on my shoulders and while she has a full set of claws that make it painful to do this around the house, my work jacket makes it quite comfortable.”

Days after they discovered the cat, they received a call from a family who identified her as their lost pet after Steve shared the tale on Facebook.

A little sad Steve said:

“We found the owners. These lovely people were reunited with their beloved cat. They lived around the corner and had many touching photos of the cat playing with his daughter. It felt good to bring them together even though he was heartbreaking at the same time. Although my heart is heavy, I know we did the right thing.”

Meeting and spending time with the kitten touched the hearts of this family and left a void in their home, so Steve considered adding a new feline member to his family.

Steve added:

“Because we had a cat-shaped hole in our hearts, we decided to adopt.”

Everyone was thrilled when they finally discovered the optimal integration. Steve explains:

“We had our hearts set on a tabby cat, but this one won us over. Black cats are less likely to be adopted than other cats, and it’s really cute. This is Sally 2.0 because we’ve previously created a Sally label.

The unexpected visit of the friendly kitten left a big mark on Steve, it showed him that his household was still missing a member to be complete and that they never imagined finding. That feline in his garage definitely left some traces on his heart that will not be erased.