This ginger cat was found with a large tape roll around his neck. How it got there is unclear – but what rescuers could see was that this poor cat was in a lot of pain and needed help urgently.
He was living on the streets in California and several attempts had been made to rescue him by local residents and animal control but each attempt was unsuccessful as he was simply terrified of humans.
Still, rescuers Kimberly Saxelby and Chris Gattas were determined to help save his life and so they decided to try their luck one valentines day and attempt to bring him home to safety.
“When we arrived we set a trap just two feet away from him while he laid under a car, we waited for an hour but we figured out that he was not going in because of the tape roll on his head so we had no choice but to try and catch him with our nets. After chasing him for a while and cornering him into an old shed that is when Chris was able to catch him with the pole net as he tried to run out,” said Kimberly.
Once they were able to calm the cat down enough, they were able to examine the tape roll more closely and saw that it had in fact been on him for months.
“We actually thought there was a dead animal near the shed but it was actually the smell of his rotting flesh and infection from his neck,” said Kimberly.
The cat was taken to Rancho Cucamonga Animal Shelter to remove the tape roll and undergo immediate treatment.
“Little did we all know after we sedated him just how bad his condition was till we cut the tape roll off his neck. It brought tears to my eyes because I couldn’t imagine the pain and suffering this poor sweet cat has been through and for as long as he has. He is very emaciated and dehydrated from not being able to eat or drink well with the tape roll over his head.” said Kimberly.
The dedicated vets at the shelter conducted emergency surgery to clear and repair the area around his neck and ears.
“We named this handsome boy Valentine because that is the day this sweet boy was saved.” said Kimberly.
Valentine made a surprisingly quick recovery from his treatment and was back to eating food and drinking properly again. The vets were struck by how well he was able to recover.
Though, he was still quite timid and shy around people, which seemed fair given his situation. He was given a box to sleep in to make him feel a bit more secure in the sanctuary and remained in there for most of the day.
Once Valentine was given to a foster home, his personality began to change. Little by little, he made improvements around his foster mom and soon she was able to pet his head without startling him.
“He has been through so much misery and pain and he is so deserving of a loving home. I know at one time this cat was not afraid of humans and probably loved human touch,” she said.
Together, Valentine’s foster parents are willing and able to help him learn how to adjust to human companionship and accept the love he deserves.
“As you can see Valentine is making himself comfy at his new foster home. He seems to be adjusting fairly quickly and that makes us very happy,” Kimberly said.
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