Watch Popular TikTok Couple Mr. Gardeners Adopt, Nurse a Blind Kitten Back To Health
These TikTok stars known mostly for their home and landscape renovations took on an entirely different kind of DIY project recently: nursing an abandoned kitten back to health. Meet Joshua and Jose (Mr. Gardeners) from Tampa, Fla., and their adorable, newly adopted blind kitty named Whiskers.
Whiskers' transformation from a sick kitty to a lively, playful pet—minus a small recent setback—has attracted the interest of millions on TikTok. So far, the nine videos featuring the growing kitten have generated roughly 65 million views.
Giving their paint brushes and nail guns a break, Joshua and Jose began posting videos about Whiskers on June 28 after they first discovered him sleeping on their driveway. In the video Joshua says, "The other day we found a kitten against the garage and we couldn't find his mother anywhere, so we took him in."
But Joshua and Jose quickly realized Whiskers was experiencing major vision problems. After cleaning his eyes and giving him plenty of food, water, and love, they took him to a local veterinarian. The vet diagnosed Whiskers with a serious eye infection and sent him home with medication to hopefully restore his vision. On top of that, the little family added a follow-up visit with a feline ophthalmologist to its calendar (yes, kitties need eye doctors too!).
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Being the devoted cat dads they are, Joshua and Jose were diligent about administering drops to Whiskers eyes every two hours (coupled with an oral antibiotic). "The next morning, he was like a whole new cat," Joshua says.
Feeling encouraged, they met with the ophthalmologist who prescribed "a few more medications" and a follow-up visit in two weeks to see if surgery is necessary to save Whisker's eyesight. It's safe to say fans wanted more of this sweet kitty's story—this one post earned over 48 million views!
The following video in the Whiskers series gives an update on his condition. Joshua says, "We stayed on top of his medication and treatment, which was a learning process all of its own." The cat dad says they learned to "crush up his pills into his food, took him to a couple vet appointments and watched him grow right in front of us!"
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After yet another vet appointment the dads received a bit of good news—Whiskers had "improved tremendously," and can see more and more light. So, the vet recommended continuing with medications for another few weeks because Whiskers was feline good (I couldn't help myself).
On July 16, after posting several updates of Whiskers "coming out of his shell" at home, he suffered a little kitty setback. Joshua says that after an afternoon of playtime, he noticed some blood on Whiskers' right eye. They rushed him to the specialist who said it was a ruptured cornea likely from running into something. Poor Whiskers! After receiving care from the vet yet again, Whiskers was sent home to rest. Thankfully, the gardeners soon reported back that Whiskers is on the mend.
Plus, the rest of his family—his mom, dad, and sister—seem to be congregating around his new home. Could the saga of Whiskers turn into a family affair?
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We can't wait to see how the little guy is doing next week. I can speak for the entire Whiskers fanbase by saying, take care of yourself sweet, adorable kitty! And thank you to the most amazing cat dads—Whiskers seems to have won the jackpot with you two.
