Tragically, there is an absolutely shocking amount of homeless cats and dogs that roam around the streets and have to fight to survive.
According to a recent estimate of the Humane Society of the United States, there are around 70 million stay animals in the US alone.
With over 70 million strays, shelters are overwhelmed.
To put that number into perspective: there are 3,500 shelters across the nation that can only take care of about eight million of them.
In other words – homelessness among four-footers is quite common, and most of them don’t exactly have a long, happy or healthy life.
But people can change that for them.
This terrified and malnourished feline was one of those stray cats.
When all hope was lost – he simply approached a random house door hoping that someone would rescue him.
On Valentine’s day, a woman heard a strange noise outside.
It was coming from the backyard. When she checked it out, she found an adorable orange fluffy cat who didn’t exactly look at his best. He was standing in the snow, with his paw desperately at the door.
It’s as if it was a desperate cry for help, and the woman simply couldn’t stand by. The temperature was absolutely chilling, and the feline likely wouldn’t survive outside for a few more hours.
Of course, she took the terrified animal in to keep him warm.
She’s actually a foster volunteer at a kitten rescue in Quebec, Un Chat à La Fois. She immediately got in touch with the founder of the animal organization, Marie Simard.
Even though Un Chat à La Fois doesn’t take in adult felines, Marie knew that they needed to do everything in their power to help.
“She said she knew we were not taking adult cats and was looking to help him,” Marie said in an interview with The Dodo.
She went on to explain what happened,
“As soon as I saw the picture it broke my heart, and I told her to take him to our partner clinic so he could be evaluated.”
The cat’s facial expression said more than a thousand words. It was just sad to see an animal so helpless and desperate.
“His face said everything that needed to be said,” she said. “He stayed in front of her door for a while, and as soon as I told her to get him, he didn’t try to get away.”
“>At the clinic, doctors realized that this cat was in very poor shape.
If it weren’t for the kind woman, the fluffy animal couldn’t have possibly survived the harsh winter conditions.
Aside from being malnourished and suffering from the cold weather, the feline had numerous fleas, ticks, and even bite wounds. His teeth were rotten, he likely suffered from diabetes for a while and had noticeable signs of frostbite.
The little paw on the door as a desperate attempt to get help ended up saving this feline’s life. Luckily, he was always very friendly and affectionate with all the people and caretakers around him.
“He was very nice to the employees at the clinic,” Marie added. “He would take his paw out of the cage at the vet so the people would pet him.”
The founder named him Aslan, in reference to The Chronicles of Narnia.
Aslan spent a couple of more days at the animal clinic to get treatment, and his condition noticeably improved as time went on. Eventually, he was even able to find a place at a foster home, and he managed to blend in well.
There were a couple of other cats there, and they all hit it off immensely. They all had a new playmate!
“He’s a very affectionate cat,” Marie told. “He likes to sleep close to his foster mom.”
The fostering period was about to come to an end, but Aslan’s foster mom simply couldn’t separate him from the other cats.
He’s taken a liking to his rescue sister Cleo, in particular.
“He would just sleep next to her, groom her and she would groom him. It made sense to have them stay together — two rescue cats who had a tough life.”
Aslan has now found his forever home with tons of tender loving care, both from his siblings as well from his new mommy.
The news about Aslan’s desperate cry for help has gone around the world, and he has even been featured in international newspapers. And it’s well deserved.
A huge shout out to all the animal lovers who refuse to stand by and watch an animal suffer!
They’re making the world a better place, one precious paw at a time.
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