ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Three kittens discovered in a shoebox in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene have found their forever homes.

The three-week-old felines were left at the doorstep of the Asheville Humane Society during the hurricane that ravaged western North Carolina in late September. In a Facebook post, the society noted that a woman who has fostered 79 kittens, adopted one of them. The other two kittens have also found homes.

These three little kittens did not lose their mittens but were found without their mother, which forced the shelter to provide intensive care from medical and foster teams. Workers named the kittens Serra, Timberland and Ugg, giving shoe brand names to the felines.

The kittens had to be bottle-fed and were bathed with potable water in the aftermath of the storm.

The woman fostering the kittens, identified by the shelter only as Laurie, took in all three cats but later adopted Timberland. It was a salve for her heart after she recently lost a pet, the Facebook post noted.

“What few people know is that while Laurie was giving so much of herself for our three shoebox kittens, she was also losing a piece of herself too,” the shelter wrote. “Flower was one of Laurie’s only foster fails, and a lifeline for Laurie. After living with terminal illness for some time, Flower passed, and Laurie was devastated. She explained that she walked around crying for weeks.”

Timberland changed that. The kitten would crawl onto the woman’s lap when she sat down and clung to her leg when she stood up. While the other two kittens played, Timberland snuggled up to the foster mom.

When Laurie had to return the kittens to the adoption center, she balked. She wanted to adopt Timberland.

“It’s not the right thing to do and I can’t let him go,” she said, according to the Asheville Humane Society’s social media post.

“We are elated to report that Ugg and Serra both found homes -- happy, healthy, and loved,” the shelter said. “Timberland? He is home too -- right with Laurie.

“Where he was meant to be.”

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