Chris Thomas was close to despair when a pregnant stray cat sneaked into his backyard in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and rekindled his faith in people and his sense of self-worth.

His special relationship with Frances, the cat, was shared on Chinese social media platform RedNote and other platforms, and struck a chord with animal lovers around the world, including tens of thousands in China.

Now a dad to eight cats and a three-legged dog, Thomas, who has gained over 172,000 likes and saves on RedNote, said he was reborn amid the "genuine care" shown by many Chinese netizens.

His journey started a few years ago during a COVID-19 quarantine when a feral cat slipped through a gap in the fence of his home.

Thomas was struggling with mental health issues, and spent most of his days in bed.

The cat crept in early in the mornings, and Thomas fed her every day without fail. "She gave me a reason to get out of bed," Thomas said. "She kept coming back, always when I needed her most."

He began to win the animal's trust and named her Frances. Thomas started livestreaming their meetings, called "Coffee and Cats with Frances the Stray", on American social network Reddit. The daily ritual of the quiet man and a streetwise cat made the newspapers and went viral online.

One morning Frances showed up injured, and Thomas decided to take her inside. He laid a trail of salmon that led into the house and gently closed the door behind her. Inside, Frances darted into the basement and curled up on a blanket. Hours later she gave birth to a litter of kittens, which Thomas livestreamed to over half a million people. Viewers wept, donated money, and helped name the kittens.

"The whole experience cracked me open," said Thomas. "I was depressed and isolated, and suddenly, there was this tiny life that relied completely on me… I thought maybe she was an angel in disguise sent to save me. But now I think she might have been sent to save even more."

Thomas adopted Frances and her kittens. Over the next few years, he saved two more cats and a three-legged dog Freya. He later launched a nonprofit organization to support animal care.