Nat Rumoro was sitting in the stands at her fiancé’s baseball game in Puerto Rico when an unexpected visitor showed up. Out of nowhere, a tiny stray kitten wandered over, climbed right into her lap — and instantly made himself at home.
Rumoro didn’t consider herself a “cat person,” but the kitten didn’t seem interested in her opinion. He curled up, got cozy, and stayed there for seven full innings.
“One guy who was watching came over and said, ‘Looks like this cat just chose you,’” Rumoro told The Dodo. “I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m not bringing him home.’ And he said, ‘I have a feeling I’ll see you tomorrow, and you might have a different answer.’”
When the game ended, the kitten wandered off. Rumoro assumed that was the end of it — until she saw him sprint back toward her. He plopped himself right onto her foot, as if to say, You’re not going anywhere without me.
Out of every person at the game, this little stray had picked her. He followed her everywhere, never letting her get too far ahead.
It was already midnight, and Rumoro and her fiancé had a decision to make: leave him behind, or take him back to their Airbnb for the night. One look at his condition made the choice easy.
“He had three gashes on his nose, and his ears were black,” Rumoro said. “He clearly needed help.”
So they scooped him up, took him home, and planned to get him to a vet first thing in the morning.
“It was like he knew we were trying to help,” Rumoro said. “That first night, he curled up… I swear it was the first time he’d ever felt safe.”
At the vet, the kitten was diagnosed with ear mites — a potentially dangerous condition — but with antibiotics and medicated cream, he began to bounce back quickly.
Even though Rumoro and her fiancé live in Kentucky, more than a thousand miles away, they knew they couldn’t leave him behind. They named him Toro, Spanish for “bull.”
“Now he’s living his best life in Kentucky,” Rumoro said. “He’s confused by the snow, but he likes sticking his paws in it until they get cold — then he’s like, ‘OK, take me back inside.’”
Some things about Toro haven’t changed though: he still follows Rumoro everywhere, and he still loves curling up on her lap for as long as she’ll let him.
To keep up with Toro and Rumoro, you can follow them on TikTok at @natrumoro.
