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If you follow my favorite photographer and sister, Alice G Patterson on Instagram, you probably already know that she has a new family member: Clayton, the Little Highway Kitty.
If you don’t already know his story, it is pretty amazing. On a rainy day in August, Alice was driving on the highway when she made eye contact with a small animal on the side of the road. Her first thought was it was a squirrel, but she pulled over and looked in her rearview mirror. It wasn’t a squirrel at all, but rather a small kitten.
Alice walked back to the spot where she saw him, and there he was, all alone in the weeds and in rough shape. She picked him up and since there were no houses around, put him in the car. Clayton started purring when Alice picked him up and hasn’t stopped. Alice took the kitten to the emergency vet for an exam. The kitten had an eye infection, ear mites, and some serious mobility issues.
I suggested some great rescues for Alice to contact, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Alice decided to take the kitten home and try to give him some TLC and good food to help him gain some strength. It took Alice about a week to realize that Clayton was staying with her indefinitely.
It didn’t take long for Clayton to establish himself as a member of the pack with Franny and Darla. 
Darla had never been around cats, so I wasn’t sure if she’d like Clayton. 
If only our politicians could be more like Clayton and Darla!
Along with all the love he’s been getting from Darla and Franny, Clayton absolutely loves to snuggle with Alice! Whenever she comes home, he starts purring and wants to be held or fed. 
Although Alice is a vegan, she knows that cats are obligate carnivores so she decided to let Clayton try NomNomNow, freshly cooked cat food delivered! 
My dogs love NomNomNow, so I was curious to see their cat food. Just like with the dog food, they use fresh ingredients prepared in the NomNomNow restaurant-quality kitchen. The food is prepared in small batches and delivered right to the door. The recyclable packing keeps the food cold, but not frozen! There are two recipes for cats: Chicken Chow Meow and Flavorful Fish Feast. Both are high in protein and have a naturally high water content, which may help prevent urinary tract infections. Their cat food also contains Taurine. Each meal is individually packaged which makes it super easy to serve.
Waiting for NomNomNow makes Clayton a little hangry! 
NomNomNow now offers variety boxes so you can rotate your pets’ meals between different proteins. This option is available for dogs as well as cats.
Surprisingly, NomNomNow cat food is less expensive than some brands of canned cat food. Clayton’s fur is becoming softer and shinier, but the most amazing thing is how mobile he has become.
With Alice’s TLC (including NomNomNow) Clayton is thriving!
I can’t say for sure that the NomNomNow food is responsible for that, but seeing how my dogs’ health improved when we made the switch, I think it is helping Clayton too.
Now that he has been with Alice for eight weeks, he’s much stronger and able to jump up on the bed. The vet thinks that he might even have a good eye underneath the gray membrane. We’ll find out in November, as the vet will be able to take a better look at it when he goes in for neutering.
You’ll be seeing a lot more of Clayton on the blog in the months to come!
Save 50% off your first order of NomNom!
Update: Check out Clayton’s update!
About Alice G Patterson Photography: Based in Syracuse, Alice specializes in pet photography as well as photography for creative women entrepreneurs.
Thank you so much for introducing my little highway kitty Clayton to your readers! His first few weeks of life must have been so traumatic. Part of me wishes I knew how he got there, and part of me is glad that I don’t know. I still get a little emotional when it is raining outside, as I think about him sitting on the side of the highway surrounded by danger and getting wet from the rain. I’ve never had a cat before, but this little guy has shown me nothing but love and appreciation. We are so thankful to be part of your affiliate program with the nutritious food of NomNomNow! Clayton loves it so much; and I believe it has transformed his coat and helped heal is little broken body.
Awww a little mini house panther. What a great rescue story. I kept wondering about his eye, I wondered if he might not have a good eye just covered over. I hope they find he does. But either way he’s a lucky little guy.
I am sat here a bit weepy (sorry my fault). Dash Kitten had micro-opthalmia and had an eye that looked similar to that. In spite of this Dash was fearless, and I know Clayton will be too.
Oddly enough I saw a little video online, it was a cat who started out ‘wobbly’ BUT as he grew older (months and months older) he eventually was able to walk. I know Clayton may be CH or just late walking BUT I want to hear much more about him. Can he have his won blog please 🙂
I know that losing Dash will affect you forever. Clayton is walking a lot better now and he even can jump onto furniture. He has his own Instagram account, so that is a start, and I’ll be featuring him a lot in the future!
What a cutie pie! So glad she saved him. I didn’t know Nom Nom made cat food! I think most of the subscription foods are just for dogs.
As far as I know, NomNomNow is the only company with a fresh food subscription service for cats.
Clayton is absolutely gorgeous. Your sister is a wonder woman for sure. 🙂 The pictures are so adorable, especially with the other fur-babies. The person behind the lens is gifted.
I’m so happy to hear Clayton is doing well. I love the idea of the Nom Nom Now food for cats and dogs. Truffle and Brulee will eat a little of it, but not as much as their canned food. How is Clayton doing now?
Awwww… What a little cutie!! He reminds me of the kitty that I had when I was five years old. His name was Rascal!
He is such a cutie! I love his beautiful eyes!
He is so so cute and am so happy he has found a happy home
What a beautiful kitty is Clayton so glad that now he has a better life. We have a black kitty like him at home. His name is Onyx. Many people abuse black cats. At least this story had a happy ending. Loving all your pictures your dogs are adorable too. I am in love with Darla.
Oh Clayton is a cutie! I remember seeing his picture briefly on IG. I couldn’t tell at the time his eye had a grey film but thought he just had a two different colored eyes and one was infected. Oh my! I’m so happy your sister saved him and he looks like he’s meshed very well into the family dynamic seamlessly. Great photo shoot. I hope feeding him Nom Nom now will help his nutrition and healing too. Thanks for sharing and congrats on the new addition to the family!
Oh my, Clayton is a beauty and how lucky of a kitty your sister came along and spotted him! I have a big soft spot for black cats, having one as a child and we “adopted” a neighborhood feral tuxedo cat. The photos are stunning, and I love how Clayton bonded with the rest of the pack family! Such a heartwarming story. <3
Clayton is super cute, and the perfect black Halloween kitty! I love this story, Alice definitely has a heart of gold – runs in the family I see. I can’t believe how fabulously Clayton has acclimated to the dogs, that is so wonderful. Bless them all!
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Clayton is so cute!! And it sounds like he has the best forever home!!
He does!
Looks like like my kitty Harpo. So nice of Alice to stop! Way to go Alice!
Thanks for sharing Clayton’s story! He’s precious. I’m following on Instagram.
A few years ago, a kitten walked up to a friend of mine and demanded help. My friend has five dogs and so she asked us if we could help find a home for the kitten. Fast forward a few years, that little kitten and I are now a cat therapy team. Rainy also loves agility and outdoor adventures in her stroller.
That is awesome, so glad Rainy picked the right person to ask for help!
What a sweetie! I love Nom Nom Now dog food. I didn’t know that they added cat food!
Clayton already has so much character! It’s not easy to photograph animals with black fur, I have a tough time getting good photos of Cow because she has black patches around her eyes, I’m always increasing the lightness of the “shadow”
Love, love, love the pictures. Clayton’s beautiful and such a lucky little guy.
My heart just exploded. That little sweetie. I cried watching the video because of his sweet little meow. Oh my lands I just wanna kiss his little face. So cute. Okay. My goodness.
darla and franny are darling. and how precious that clayton was purring at a stranger on the highway!!
“If only our politicians could be more like Darla and Clayton.” Hahahah. Dying. It’s so true! Clayton is a cutie. Love this post.
Aww what a cutie! My in-laws foster cats, and there was one with an eye problem who they named Odin. He was so sweet and I was happy when he got adopted but a little sad he wasn’t there when I went to visit them anymore!
What an amazing rescue story. I am so glad Clayton was rescued! What an amazing kitty. Lovely photos as always.
What a wonderful story and kitten has found his forever home. Even dog likes him
Clayton is such a beautiful and amazing kitty. It was wonderful to learn more about him. Thankful that he’s has a loving home.
What a cute kitty! Looks spunky and full of life. I’m more of a dog person, but that is one adorable cat.
What a precious kitty. I am a total cat person. I love black cats too. Clayton is a survivor, that’s for sure.
What a beautiful cat and amazing story! What a survivor. The food looks amazing as well great mix of ingredients for a cat.
Bless his heart, Clayton seems like such a sweet baby. I love how well he gets along with his canine siblings!
Clayton is such a cute cat, and with such an amazing story. It looks like he enjoys that food a lot too!
I’m the cat lover in my family but I do adore dogs as well. Thanks for sharing your story and all your darling photos!
Clayton looks like such a sweet cat. I really love them but unfortunately, I’m allergic to them.
I never knew they had a cat food delivery service. so neat.and an adorable caqt!
Well Clayton is just adorable, unique eye and all! He’s a little model/poser for sure!
Such a cute kitty! And that cat food looks well! Seems to be homemade!
Okay, this kitty story has got me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside – so sweet! Also, love this food delivery service – I’ll have to tell my bff for her kitties!
Clayton is so adorable! And you gotta love the photo of Clayton and the two dogs. I mean, that is cuteness overload right there.
I can’t get over Clayton’s eyes. So mesmerizing. I love the two pets get along as well.
Awww, what an adorable cat. I love hearing stories like these. I rescued a couple of cats myself. They were just babies when we found them, and now they’re together with us.
Who says black cats are bad luck? Looks like you lucked out with this cat! A very adorable kitty!
Oh, Clayton is beautiful! We’ve been caring and vetting a neighborhood feral for years now who is a tuxedo cat. I’ve loved black cats since having one as a child! The photos are beautiful, and love how Clayton bonded with Darla and Franny! This just warms my heart!
What a lucky kitty! All that love and yummy food. I hope things go well with Clayton’s eye surgery.
Clayton is such a cutie! I love the black fur. He found himself the purrfect forever family. It is great that he gets along with the dogs and is loving the NomNomNom. I hope that he continues to get better and inspires more photoshoots!
He is so handsome and I am sure since you wrote this post he has grown and so much healthier. I needed to comment on your sister’s cat as I always feel your sister deserves an award for saving him.
Clayton’s story brought a smile to my face. It sounds like he knew he had found his forever home pretty quickly, it just took a little longer for them to come around to that same realization lol It was a similar situation for one of our cats. She was in our local shelter and I was helping to run a small fundraiser. I would see her all the time and visit with her but always claimed that I didn’t need to bring a cat home… Until the day came that I realized that I had already fallen in love with her lol
Wow! What a story! I hope Clayton is doing better now. How is NomNomNow doing for him? Is his eye healed and more mobile? It certainly sounds like he landed exactly where he needed to be with Alice, Darla, and Franny. Thanks for sharing this wonderful story.
He is so handsome and thank you Alice for rescuing him. I always say a good diet fixes everything in so many ways and am so happy he is eating well, getting lots of TLC and one happy chap.