After being rescued from the street, one tattered stray turned into a meowjestic beauty once he finally knew love and safety: 'The glow up is real'

Love affects us all in profound ways, but it's always the clearest on a cat - you can always tell when a cat is loved and cared for by its fur.

Before and after adoption photos are one of our few remaining joys in our lives that haven't changed in years. Why haven't they changed? Because you can't improve on purrfection. There's something in the simplicity of seeing the transformation of a cat that just got rescued from the street to months after being adopted that heals our souls. Their fur is healthier. Their coat clearer. Their eyes brighter. Even their posture changes. Cats' appearances change dramatically when they experience love and safety, and that's exactly what we're showing you below.

Meet his meowjesty Sus, who is now applying to be the next supermeowdel of the world. We think he deserves it, don't you?

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Look at him, Sus even has a meowthereal (ethereal for those of you who don't speak cat) glow about him! There are a couple impurrtant reasons for this, and the biggest one is stress (or lack thereof). Stress affects cats' abilities to self-regulate, meaning their fur stays greasy and don't focus on grooming. They have quite a few more immediate needs to worry about! Finding shelter, food, and water take priority over a shiny coat.
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Once a stray street cat becomes a feline family member, a lot of things happen. They feel so safe that they feel comfortable judging your every choice (we could do without this one). But, something ameowzing also happens: they start to trust you. They start to relax more around you, showing off their bellies, grooming in front of you, playing with you, or even cuddling next to you. Their eating schedule becomes normalized, giving their tiny bodies purroper nutrition that rebuilds their bones, fur, and skin. They go through a meowtomorphosis of sorts, and it's simply beautiful to witness!
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The biggest thing that affects a cat's appearance is sleep. They go from sleeping outside with basically one eye open to finally being able to rest. There's a reason why they call it “beauty sleep”! Sleep goes from an anxious to a restorative activity. You know that feeling when you have a big meeting or test the next day, and you sleep but still wake up tired? It's because you didn't sleep well, even though you rested.
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