An Upstate policeman’s kindness to stray kitty goes viral

A Spartanburg police officer is attracting national attention after his selfie with a stray kitten went viral.

Spartanburg Police Officer Cody Garrett found a homeless kitten while on patrol with another officer. He decided to keep her, and posted a picture of himself with the kitten on Instagram, Reddit.com and other social media sites.

The photo has gotten more than 2 million views since Garrett shared it on Reddit Monday. The Reddit post stated, "My partner is kind of a puss."

The Police Department jokingly referred to the kitten as Garrett's "new partner" in a Facebook post, and said Garrett has a soft spot for animals. Garrett now calls the kitten Squirt, a reference to the accidents the kitten had after the officer took her home.

"I've got to thank my girlfriend for taking care of her. … She's helped out a ton and done all the gross stuff," he said.

The kitten was hiding under a dumpster during a rainstorm Saturday, Garrett said. He already owns one cat — another former stray — who just had kittens, so Squirt fit right in, he said.

"My cat had kittens four weeks ago and is nursing right now so it was just perfect," he said. "It's my baby now. It's cute. It's the smallest kitten I've ever seen."

The photo of him and Squirt has drawn the attention of national outlets like "Good Morning America," "The Today Show," Huffington Post and Mashable.com.

Garrett, 28, works a 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. shift for the Police Department. He said all the media attention and phone calls have been somewhat exhausting.

"I'm worn out and trying to sleep today," Garrett said.

The photo was later re-posted with a mustache that matches Garrett's added to the kitten.

Garrett said he believes the photo went viral because it shows a different side of police officers.

"(People) want to see police officers in a more positive light for once, and I'm completely fine with that," he said.