A Louisiana man was surprised to find a stray kitten in the middle of the road. The poor thing was weary and dirty, and not shy about approaching him.

Robert Brantley picked up the grey-striped kitten, an act which was, to quote Gandalf the White, "the falling of small stones that begins an avalanche."

A stampede of kittens soon came pattering out from the bushes. They swarmed Brantley's feet, clearly wanting to be the next to go for a hand-held ride through the air. There were a dozen in all, but that didn't stop Brantley from loading them up into his car and taking them all home for a bath and some milk.

"Anyone wanting a kitten at a screaming price? I'll cut you a deal," he wrote as the caption of a video that went viral on Instagram. Soon he was receiving hundreds of adoption offers for the little ones.

Shortly after, he posted another video when all 12 kittens were loaded up in his car-he noted that "the tactical Honda was not prepared for this."

It bears repeating that in many instances, people think they're rescuing kittens when in reality, the mother cat is out hunting, or hiding from the approaching rescuer. Indeed some of the Instagram comments note that when people find kitten(s) who seem lost, they should look around, or wait a fair few hours, to see if they can find the mother.

(WATCH the TODAY video for this story below.)

RAISE a Paw and Share This Adorable Story…