CatNipsm: Cat with vampire fangs steals the heart of the woman who saved him from the street

Meet Monk!

Several years ago, Nicole Rienzie was driving with her mom when a black kitten darted in front of her car.

She stopped just in time, and got out to check on the little guy. Despite not being hit, he was still in rough shape.

"He was very, very thin, malnourished, covered in bugs and his eyes were so infected he couldn't even see out of them," Rienzie tells The Dodo. "We swooped him up and took him home, cleaned him up, fed him and that's pretty much where it all began."

He couldn't stop playing and running around like a little monkey, so the name Monkey or Monk just stuck.

She was planning on nursing Monk back to health before finding him a home, but Monk had other plans. He stole Rienzie's heart and the rest was history.

Monk became a loving pet, and as he grew, Rienzie noticed something a bit unusual about him.

He had some seriously large fangs... vampire fangs.

@monkandbean

Worried something might be wrong with him, she took him to the vet, who said Monk was perfectly healthy.

@monkandbean

"It's rare, but [the vet] said some cats just get really big fangs like that," Rienzie says. "His happen to be larger than most cats who grow long fangs, but [the vet] said that sometimes just happens, but there's nothing wrong with it at all."

@monkandbean

Monk's vampire fangs have been admired by all of Rienzie's friends and family. She then started an Instagram account starring Monk which has gained thousands of followers.

@monkandbean

@monkandbean

Just one year after they rescued Monk, they saved another black kitty named Bean. The two furry friends became brothers instantly.

@monkandbean

Bean had been living underneath the patio of a former coworker when Rienzie offered to foster him. But when Bean and Monk hit it off, she knew Bean was there to stay.

@monkandbean

"They were instant friends," Rienzie says. "Monkey really wanted a friend, and the second I put Bean down on the floor, he started licking him, cleaning him. He just loved him instantly."

Monk and Bean love tearing around her house and "trashing the place," according to Rienzie. "They do a lot of playing, and they're very, very active," she said. "I clean up their toys and put them in their toy basket every night, and every morning when I get up, they've taken some out that they want to play with."

The two are best friends, and Rienzie loves her little kitty family.

Don't worry, Monk doesn't use his fangs for evil. He might look like a vampire, but Rienzie says there's nothing scary about him. "He's very spunky, feisty and he's got a little bit of attitude, but he's very, very sweet. He likes to lick a lot."