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This is Clyde's story. One day, I brought out food to feed the feral cats in our neighborhood, and he came running out of the cat house we have out there and started rubbing up on my leg. His fur was all matted. His eyes and nose were infected and some blood was coming out of his mouth, plus he was skinny. We rushed him to the only open vet we could find and waited in the car for two hours while they assessed him (this was during the COVID-19 pandemic).

CAT. PHOTO: PIXABAY / JACKIELOU DL

They had to pull all his teeth due to pockets of infection, and they shaved all his fur off because it was matted with poop. He also tested positive for FIV. We felt that he had been mistreated so badly long enough that he deserved to be loved, even if for only a short time. So instead of putting him down, which is usually the case with cats that test positive for FIV, we took him home. We have other cats, so Clyde got his own private room to ensure that none of the other cats could contract FIV.

We all spent time with him, petting him, cleaning him, feeding him, and giving him his meds. Sad thing is he had no voice at all. You knew he was screaming, "Stop, wait for me!" at the top of his lungs when you left the room, yet not a whisper came out. It was heartbreaking. He finally learned that he didn't need a voice to get our attention, just his paw. He learned he could make the door bang loudly if he stuck his paw under it and shook it, and it got our attention quickly.

PHOTO: SHELLEY JENKINS

Took three to four weeks, and he was healing up, gaining weight, and no longer smelled like the poop that had been matted all in his fur. He was our little lion cat. Unfortunately, about a month later, I noticed he really wasn't eating much and starting to lose weight rapidly. So we got some jars of beef baby food to try to get his weight back up. He started to eat a little better but wasn't as sociable.

It was then that I realized that we had found him in the knick of time three months prior. He was on the verge of death, and we brought him back. Gave him love, showed him that he was special. He was in late stages of FIV and all we could do was give him love for the short time he had left with us. We let him out of the room so he could explore the whole down stairs and hang out with us (other cats were upstairs).

He spent the day going from me to my husband to my daughter, getting attention and love, then stole the dog's bed and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, he made a noise, so we bundled him up, made him comfy, and we knew he was going to be gone by morning. We were sad that our 'Little Clyde Lion' was gone, but we were happy that he found us and that we were able to help him and give him the love he deserved even for such a short time.

PHOTO: SHELLEY JENKINS

Miss you buddy. RIP Little Clyde Lion.

Story submitted by Shelley Jenkins.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!