A man was doing his job as usual when he heard a sound that made him stop.
Nicholas, 28, who describes himself as "a big animal guy, especially cats," was recently installing security cameras at an apartment complex when he heard what he first thought "was a really strange bird call."
But when his coworker pointed out that "it sounded more like a stressed cat," he went instantly into "search mode."
Nicholas told Newsweek: "It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the fence for the property, but upon moving closer, it was projecting out of the grate for the drain water in the middle of the parking lot."
Nicholas headed towards the noise and "peeked in" to the pipe—where he noticed a tiny kitten's head poking out.
And he got to work, lifting the grate to try and free the kitten, as his coworker completed the job they had been hired to do—after first "flagging off the little corner of the parking lot, so I could try to get to her."
It proved a more difficult job than Nicholas expected, as he couldn't reach the kitten and "she was not coming out of the pipe, so for about an hour we were just meowing at each other in the hopes I could get her to peek out of the pipe."
But each time the terrified kitten emerged, "she would run back to the pipe as soon as I was close enough to reach her."
Eventually, Nicholas took matters into his own hands, sliding "into the drain head first, with a piece of cardboard to block the pipe off," and grabbed the kitten, getting them both to safety.
He shared the story to Reddit's r/cats via his account u/vocaloidisthesh*t, writing: "Not sure how long it was down there, but (she?)was certainly hungry. Kept trying to suck on my shirt and my beard the whole way to the pet store."
Along with the post, he shared photographs of himself and the fluffy black kitten: riding on his shoulder in the car, helping herself to food and water, and taking a much-deserved nap on a soft blanket.
Reddit users awarded the post more than 38,000 upvotes, as one commenter praised him: "Thank you for rescuing this baby!"
"You are a full-on superhero, you deserve a cape," another agreed, as one declared: "From one big bearded guy to another, you're a good dude and I hope fortune favors you."
And as one person put it: "Thank you for saving this kitten. The world needs more people like yourself."
Nicholas also praised his company, Bay Alarm, which "allowed me to take the time during the work day to save her, and take [the next day] off to care for her as well."
"I was really moved that they were so quick to help me out there, many jobs I've had before would not have been pleased with me," he said.
According to a 2022 survey from Statista Consumer Insights, 25 percent of Americans said they got their cat as a stray, after finding it outside or even on their own doorstep. The phenomenon has even got a name: the "cat distribution system."
Nicholas said the kitten is "doing great so far, getting lots of love from everyone," and he has several potential homes lined up if he's not able to keep her himself. Because, he explained to Newsweek, he rents a room with a family who has already allowed him "to keep a 75 gallon fish tank, an assortment of shrimp tanks, and a cat I already own."
"I don't want to impose, so I'm taking it slow to see if they're interested in letting her stay," he said, but added he is "very happy to know she'll be loved no matter the circumstance, and that's enough for me."
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