When staff arrived at the Douglas County Animal Care and Services in Nevada, USA, that morning, they discovered a pet carrier in front of the building. Of course, this could only mean one thing: someone had just abandoned their pet…something the shelter is sadly very accustomed to.
But when they opened the carrier, they all let out a gasp. What was inside didn’t look like an animal. It was just a huge pile of matted fur.
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The cat was unable to move
At first, shelter staff thought it was a dog they were looking at. It was hard to tell from just looking inside the carrier, because of the way the animal had simply been shoved into it. But as they took the strange ‘thing’ out and started to turn it over in every which way, they discovered the pile of fur was actually…a cat!
“I’ve never seen a cat in that sort of condition”, admitted Liz Begovich, shelter supervisor. She knew this was a sign the cat had been neglected for months, if not, years.
Almost 10 lbs of fur removed
CCTV footage showed a man had indeed dropped the carrier off at the shelter overnight. Police look for answers to the questions everyone is asking: was this man the cat’s owner? Is he responsible for the state of the animal? The shelter especially, needs to know, for the safety of any other animals in this man’s care.
“Normally, when someone leaves an animal after hours, there’s usually more to the story. It’s typically not a Good Samaritan who found an animal on the side of the road,” Begovich said. “We would really like to know the backstory. There could be other animals in this house, wherever this cat came from, who are in the same condition.” Investigations are ongoing.
A bright future ahead
Even though he was abandoned, it’s a happy ending for this once-neglected kitty. After having been completely shaved and shedding a whopping 9.92 lbs of fur, the kitty was checked over by a vet and given a clean bill of health. The cat, now named Bob Marley, is overweight, but still feeling lighter than he previously was!
Around 10-years-old, Marley revealed himself an adorable, sweet-natured cat. But he will need an adoptive family willing to help him with his weight problem.
He has a long life ahead of him and can’t wait to get started living it!
