When Reddit user nexerxe left home to start their first year of college, they couldn’t take their beloved cat, Spotty, with them. So, nexerxe left the critter with their parents. Or at least that’s what the student thought. Nexerxe eventually found out that their parents actually gave away the kitty. Without even telling them.

So, crushed but not defeated, nexerxe made it their mission to find their pet and get it back. And with the help of the Internet, they did. Nexerxe set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise the funds needed to re-adopt the kitten, and 10 people chipped in $240, allowing the broke college kid to be reunited with their four-legged buddy.

And Spotty isn’t just a cat. The kitty is nexerxe’s friend. When their father was emotionally abusive, their mother refused to let them get help. “The only thing I had was my cat,” nexerxe said. “I moved out when I was 18 to get away from the abuse, and accepted that I would have to fully support myself in a town where I knew no one and had no job.”

Now, nexerxe works two jobs and is about to start one of them full-time but still can’t imagine their life without Spotty. “I’ll do anything for my kitty.”

Here’s what people said about the whole ordeal