A shelter cat named Smurf ended up going viral after millions of people wondered how his fur came to be a bright blue.
While some TikTok commenters guessed that it might have been because the kitten was used as bait for dogfighting that, thankfully, didn’t turn out to be the case. Now, we just get to gush after how adorably cute this teeny blue baby is.
A video of Smurf the kitten was posted on TikTok by @manicrandall whose real name is Theo Randall, according to Newsweek.
In the video, Randall introduces Smurf to his viewers by explaining that Smurf came into the shelter with his ginger fur dyed blue.
“We do not know why Smurf is blue, but he seems okay with it,” Randall explains.
Actually, he’s not exactly blue. He’s patches of blue, green, and indigo.
He should totally get his money back for this dye job because it’s super uneven.
Joking, this botched dye job wasn’t done in a cat hair salon! It was way worse than that.
He got a home dye job.
“[Smurf’s] owner has contacted us so we know that he previously had a home,” Randall said. “He was professionally dyed with what is likely pet-safe dye.
Still, you can’t deny that Smurf is the cutest blueish cat you’ve ever seen and you want to pet him very badly.
That’s why we’re so glad this cat wasn’t abused like some suspected he may have been.
Some people on TikTok mentioned that Smurf’s unique coloring might be because he was used for bait.
“Cats with purple paws aren’t making a fashion statement and haven’t accidentally gotten into some purple markers or paint. The hue on their paws and white patches of fur means they’ve been color-coded as bait in dogfighting — and they need to be rescued immediately,” the Animal Rescue site writes. “It’s not just the color purple, either. When a cat is held as bait in a dogfighting ring, the white parts of its fur could be any vibrant color: orange, purple, green. The color serves as an identification for each individual cat, so that it’s easier for spectators to place bets on the order that the cats will die.”
Steve Kelso, the Marketing and Communication Manager for the Kent County Health Department, told Newsweek that they don’t suspect Smurf to have been a victim of dogfighting since he didn’t have any injuries when he arrived at the shelter.
The vet also confirmed that Smurf was in good health. It was again confirmed by Randall.
“Thanks for everyone’s concern but Smurf is NOT a dogfighting bait cat,” Randall said.
While he didn’t come from a violent home, he still needed a new one.
“The owner has a week to come get him and unfortunately she never showed when she said she would,” Randall explained. “Smurf doesn’t understand why he wasn’t claimed but will be adopted by a loving family in our area.”
It didn’t take long before Smurf to be adopted from the Kent County Animal Shelter.
I mean, people watched his video more than four million times just to see how cute he is.
Check that video out for yourself below.
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