Sick abandoned cat trapped by cat lovers who nursed skinny feline back to health after registered owners don’t respond to calls and gave it loving furever home with them: ‘No word from his past owner yet, so I think I most likely have a new cat!’’

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Sep 3, 2026 4:45 PM EDT

It is not often that we hear a cat rescue story that begins with a neighborhood cat, most likely because most of the time they do not require rescuing. But when one feline found itself struggling to eat and getting skinnier and skinnier one cat loving hooman simply could not stand by and let him waste away.

We have to say that this is quite the departure from our regular cat rescue stories, if that can even be a 'regular' thing. But in most cases cats are found in vulnerable pawsitions either injured, trapped or dumped and they rather willingly come along with the hooman who has come to help them. However, in this story the cat was a neighborhood catto, known to everyone, fed by many and adored throughout the street.

But when this poor cat started to struggle with eating and eventually walking it was only one resident who stepped up to save him. Not that he was willing to come along quietly, after all he is a child of the streets, but soon enough he gave up the fight and admitted defeat. And it is lucky she did because had he spent a few more weeks on the streets his story could be a whole lot different. So we thank this caring cat rescuer for her hard work and iron will to save a cat from themselves and to ensure that a sweet soul who had brought her joy throughout the years receives the same courtesy from her.

 

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to start your Caturday with the funniest felines on the internet!

Advertisement
  • 01
    "I heard him purr for the first time tonight while feeding him."
    via throwawayacc317

    Black cat with orange eyes sitting on side walk looking up.

    Picture does not depict real parties.


     

  • 02
    Hi! I live in Medford, Oregon, U.S., and I'm trying to trap this sweet little stray kitty who seems sick. I'm pretty knowledgeable about cats, but I've never done anything like this before. It seems like this cat is really in need, but she
    via throwawayacc317
  • 03
    really doesn't want to be trapped. She lives somewhere around my apartment complex and I've been feeding her for a week. She's extremely thin, you can see her spine with the nood eye. She also seems to be in pain when
    via throwawayacc317
  • 04
    she walks. I think she might have some kind of tooth issue; my neighbors leave out tons of kibble for the stray cats but she only seems interested in soft food. Even when she eats the wet food, she doesn't chew like any other cat I've seen. She
    via throwawayacc317
  • 05
    has a bald spot under her chin also. Not sure if she's actually a girl or not, she won't let me get close enough to check. She's a little skittish but doesn't seem especially scared of people. We've built up a little trust over
    via throwawayacc317
  • 06
    SHIP
    via throwawayacc317
  • 07
    the last week. She lets me pet her, occasionally slow blinks back at me, and she'll come right up to my door when she gets hungry. She can climb the stairs to my apartment on her own, which I think is a good sign that I'm not too late to get her some
    via throwawayacc317
  • 08
    veterinary help. I attempted to trap her tonight with a carrier | had around. I tried putting the can of food in the carrier, which worked okay, but she didn't climb in there entirely and started growling when I tried to push the can in further. I tried slowly
    via throwawayacc317

  • It truly warms the heart to see someone who is so concerned about a cat who essentially has nothing to do with them. Oftentimes these kind of neighborhood strays are the most neglected kitties out there. Merely getting some food and no medical attention even though their environment is filthy and full of fights. It is an inherent irony in the feeding of stray cats, they are protective creatures and the more mouths there are to feed the less food there is to go around. 
     

  • 09
    moving the can closer to the kennel from the outside, but she growled at that also. Didn't seem interested at all when I put some treats in there. I tried it a few times, but I think I stressed her out. Eventually I just called it quits and gave her the food because I didn't
    via throwawayacc317
  • 10
    Cheezburger Image 10660586240
    via throwawayacc317
  • 11
    want to ps her off and make her harder to catch in the future. Anyway, ideas? Methods? I'm gonna go back with some catnip tomorrow night, but I think the problem might've been that the carrier was too small or something? If
    via throwawayacc317
  • 12
    anyone more experienced. with trapping cats has any resources or advice, I'd love to hear it. This poor girl is in bad shape and she needs help immediately. Edit: took out a section that was way too long about how sketchy my
    via throwawayacc317
  • 13
    local rescue community is sometimes. In short, I can't give this cat up to a rescue and probably wouldn't be able to anyway because they're all full, but I did reach out about borrowing a trap.
    via throwawayacc317
  • 14
    UPDATE: Two of the local rescues I called were, predictably, very unhelpful and unwilling to loan me a trap or schedule a time to come here themselves and trap the cat. Probably not their fault, they're stretched very thin, but still kinda
    via throwawayacc317
  • 15
    Cheezburger Image 10660585984
    via throwawayacc317
  • 16
    annoying. There's one or two I haven't heard back from, so hopefully one of them will loan me a trap. Will update when there's more news!
    via throwawayacc317
  • 17
    Hi! Back with an update on my post from the other day about trying to trap a stray cat I was worried about. Turns out it's a boy! Around 6 years old, only 5 pounds :( poor baby. I was able to get in touch
    via throwawayacc317

  • Wow, how lucky that she was able to catch this scrawny thing! For reference a cat of his age should weigh between 8 to 12 pounds so he is waaay off the end of the scrawny side of the scale. No wonder she was concerned about him. With his issues eating it would not have been too long before this sweet child would have met a fate worse than simply living on the streets.  It is such a relief that there are such caring cat people out there looking out for all felines in their social circle.
     

  • 18
    with a local rescue who lent me a trap (thank god lol, I got shot down by two different rescues yesterday and I was starting to lose hope). I trapped him successfully this afternoon and took him straight to the kitty ER! He doesn't have any significant tooth
    via throwawayacc317
  • 19
    7016
    via throwawayacc317
  • 20
    problems like I thought, but I'm still gonna get him a jaw x-ray soon just to make sure everything is okay. He's in normal-ish health, just really skinny because he probably doesn't know how to find his own food.
    via throwawayacc317
  • 21
    He's also chipped! The vet called his owner but the owner didn't pick up. The vet has my contact info for if they call back, but no word yet. My suspicion is that this cat may have been abandoned, but I hope I'm wrong. Anyway, he's now taking
    via throwawayacc317
  • 22
    a very peaceful little nap in a big ol dog crate that I borrowed from a friend. My boyfriend is taking him to get vaccinated & tested for diseases tomorrow, after which he'll be free to roam around my bedroom until we can introduce him to our other cat.
    via throwawayacc317
  • 23
    I fed him tonight and heard him purr for the first time so that was really special. Gave him. lots of chin scratches. He seems to be adjusting really well, especially given how stressful today was for him. I'm so happy he's okay.
    via throwawayacc317
  • 24
    Cheezburger Image 10660585728
    via throwawayacc317
  • 25
    UPDATE: Our little guy is vaccinated and cleared for FIV/FELV! Vet said it looked like he'd lost most of the muscle mass in his legs. He seems to be regaining some strength. We've been snuggling every day & he seems very happy to have a home again :)
    via throwawayacc317
  • 26
    Me & my bf named him Nico! He's doing better than I could've hoped. I think he may be the sweetest cat I've ever met. He laid on my chest and fell asleep the first night we let him out of the crate, he headbutts + licks my face, purrs constantly, and he even
    via throwawayacc317
  • 27
    jumped into my arms from the bed yesterday when I got home from work. I don't know how long he was outside but he's definitely still a domestic kitty at heart. This cat was not built for the streets Imfao. He's such a clingy little lovebug.
    via throwawayacc317
  • 28
    Cleared for all diseases and newly re-vaccinated! He's got a few fleas, but we're working on it. Still very underweight but definitely filling out a little after a week of consistent meals. His fur is soft and shiny again, he has way more energy, he started grooming himself,
    via throwawayacc317
  • 29
    CALLS
    via throwawayacc317
  • 30
    drinking water, and using the litter regularly, and we're playing with him every day so he can start regaining his lost muscle mass. He even jumped up on my windowsill the other day! Nearly fell off a minute later, but hey, it's progress.
    via throwawayacc317
  • 31
    No word from his past owner yet, so I think I most likely have a new cat! Poor baby was probably abandoned. But he's adjusting really well, he seems so happy and relaxed. I'm just so glad this all worked out, and I would absolutely d for this skinny lil dude.
    via throwawayacc317
  • 32
    Cheezburger Image 10660587264
    via throwawayacc317

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

cat skinny nurse abandoned reddit story trapped response cat story cat owners feline health sick furever home loving cat lovers
Scroll Down For The Next Article