Girl Goes to 10th Birthday Party, Comes Home With 9-Week-Old Kitten

A mom received an unexpected call from her daughter who was at a birthday party, but there wasn't anything wrong. Instead, her daughter was asking if she could take home quite the "party favor."

The hosts of the child's 10th birthday party recently had a litter of kittens. When the friends arrived, including Kristen Stover's daughter, they had them call their parents and ask about bringing home a kitten for themselves.

Stover's daughter even sent pictures and videos of her playing with the kitten, saying it was her favorite thing in the world. (Kids really know how to pull on their parents' heartstrings, right?) Stover did not want to be the only mom who said no, she told Newsweek, so Oscar, who is 9 weeks, came home.

"Now she has her own cat," Stover said.

The Stovers already had a cat living with them, Miles, who is 9, and Stover was worried about how he would accept a new cat.

"I was nervous about how they would get along," she said. "They instantly became best friends. They sleep together.... Now he is very playful."

Before Oscar arrived, Miles would get the zoomies every once in a while, Stover said. But that kitten energy has rubbed off, and now the two of them play together.

Stover had no idea there would be kittens at the party. Otherwise, she would've made sure to tell her daughter "Don't try to bring home the cat." But she felt great pressure to agree to it, and the other three parents who said yes probably did too.

At least the whole family is on board with Oscar now. Stover said her husband wasn't too thrilled, but now he lies and sleeps with him. Isn't that how it always goes?

Stover, known on Reddit as u/Adrift-in-Kismet, shared the story to the subreddit channel r/cats on January 29. As of Friday, the post had received over 17,000 likes and 400 comments.

As adorable as the kitten is, Reddit users were divided about giving an animal as a gift.

"Best party favor EVER," wrote one user.

Another added: "That's how I got my first cat, parents were not impressed (rightly so). She was a good one though."

Others weren't too impressed with the party hosts: "Pets aren't random gifts, they are decades-long commitments and expenses. Poor kitties."

Someone else said: "It's very wrong I think to surprise a pet on someone who's not prepared. On the other hand, oh my god!! That picture is melting me!"

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.