Over the past year, whenever Will Hillard was working in his garden, he’d receive a furry visitor.
“I hear a light meow,” Will smiles. “And there she was.”
There was this cat named Spookers, who seemed to pick Will to be her person.
“I’d lay down on the grass with her and she’d curl up,” Will says. “We’d have buddy time.”
Until one day, when Will was greeted by not just salutations from Spookers, but a chorus of kittens.
“I was excited,” Will says.
The four kittens were born in Will’s backyard, before Spookers was hit by a car just a few days later, leaving them four orphans.
“When I put Spookers in the ground here, I kind of promised her that I would look after these kittens like my own children,” Will says.
So Will scrambled to research online, consult veterinarians, and spent a week of sleepless nights attending to their every need.
“Every two hours, you’re up and feeding them,” Will says. “You pee ‘em, you poop ‘em, and then they go back to sleep.”
And before you know it, despite never having done this before, you find your babies are thriving.
“Now we’re on solid foods. We’re still doing the bottle,” Will says, before laughing. “And we’re hooligans!”
The hooligans (now called Happy, Tux, Bolt, and the yet-to-be-named Number Four) are gaining attention on Will’s social media posts for their antics, which range from couch-chasing to foot-wrestling.
The kittens also regularly cuddle up around Will’s neck, making his beard seem even bigger than before.
Will’s commitment to care for them seems to be inspiring positivity and kindness amongst his followers.
“If you see something like this,” Will says. “Take the time and actually go through with it.”
While Will is preparing to take care of all their medical needs, including spaying and neutering, he has no plans to put them up for adoption.
“This is what made it so much easier about Spookers, right?” Will says, before kissing the purring kittens covering his chest.
Because although the job of caring for them is “extremely big,” knowing that their mom is proud of the way he’s stepping up as their dad, feels even bigger.
