After Being Rescued, All This Mange-Covered Cat Wanted Was a Hug
Coated with feces and suffering from sarcoptic mange, Valentino the cat needed help. His eyes were so swollen he couldn't open them, and he was missing fur and some whiskers. Luckily, a loving rescuer heard the kitty's cry for help, and gave him the love he needed.
Elaine Seamans was visiting the Baldwin Park Animal Care Center near Los Angeles when she overheard "the tiniest meow." "There are times when it's not an option to keep walking," she told The Dodo. "You just have to stop. This was one of those times."
While people can develop an uncomfortable rash from sarcoptic mange, Seamans knew the cat needed some human contact. "How could I not cuddle him and kiss his thick skin with missing fur and eyes that can't open?" she wrote on Instagram. "With his head resting on my shoulder ... I feared he had just passed in my arms."
But Valentino held on, and Seamans asked her friend Toby Wisneski for his help. As the founder of the nonprofit Leave Now Paws Behind, Wisneski agreed to get Valentino the special care he needed.
"He couldn't move and he couldn't see. But God love him, he's a fighter," Wisneski told The Dodo. They got Valento to the animal hospital, where vets diagnosed him with a massive bacterial infection and possible ulcer bleed as well.
"It killed me to see him in that condition, knowing how defeated he must have felt," Seamans told Love Meow. "This is one of the sweetest cats I've ever met."
Luckily, Valentino's fans believe he will get better soon. He recently started to open his eyes, which are a beautiful green. According to Wisneski, "his prognosis is excellent and once he gets through this, he's going to have a long life ahead of him."
If you'd to help Valentino, you can learn more about No Paws Left Behind here.
[h/t The Dodo]
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