Cats
Cat With Badly Matted Fur Dumped At Shelter
Rachel Shapiro
08.30.18

In early August 2018, shelter staff at Douglas County Animal Care & Services arrived at work and saw a shocking sight. An animal carrier had been left outside the shelter overnight.

Douglas County Animal Care & Services
Source:
Douglas County Animal Care & Services

When the staff looked inside, they saw an animal with fur so matted, he could hardly move. He had clearly suffered from years of neglect.

The animal was in such bad shape, the staff couldn’t tell what it was at first. They initially thought it was a dog, but once they got a closer look, they realized it was a cat.

“We couldn’t turn him around because of the way he was shoved in the carrier,” Liz Begovich, the shelter’s supervisor, told The Dodo. “So we took the top off and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s a cat!’ I’ve never seen a cat in that sort of condition.”

Douglas County Animal Care & Services
Source:
Douglas County Animal Care & Services

The animal shelter checked their surveillance cameras and saw a man leaving the cat. The shelter alerted the police, who put a message on their Facebook page asking if anyone had any information about this man.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a person of interest who may be…

Posted by Douglas County, Nevada onWednesday, August 22, 2018

While the police searched for answers, the shelter staff began giving the cat the medical care he desperately needed.

The cat’s fur was so densely encased, the poor animal wasn’t able to move at all. The vet guessed that his food and water were put right in front of him, and it was clear he had been living this way for quite some time. The staff nicknamed the cat Bob Marley.

“We immediately took him to the vet where they sedated him,” Begovich said. “They shaved about 4.5 pounds of hair off of him. It filled a full-size kitchen trash bag.”

Douglas County Animal Care & Services
Source:
Douglas County Animal Care & Services

Once all the matted fur was off, Bob looked like a whole new cat! But then, the staff realized he had another issue: he weighed about 22.6 pounds.

Bob has already started moving around more, and so with the right diet, he should be able to lose the weight. Bob is enjoying his freedom, and he has even tried jumping onto counters. While he hasn’t been able to jump that high yet, the staff is happy to see him coming back to life after his ordeal.

Douglas County Animal Care & Services
Source:
Douglas County Animal Care & Services

Douglas Animal Services posted about Bob on Facebook, and the post was quickly shared hundreds of times. Since the post got so much publicity, it didn’t take long for the shelter to find Bob’s perfect forever home.

Bob left the shelter and went to his forever home on August 26, 2018. Bob’s new parents plan to help the sweet cat lose weight, and they’ll also shower him with love.

Douglas County Animal Care & Services
Source:
Douglas County Animal Care & Services

The police are still searching for the man who left Bob at the shelter. Hopefully, they’ll find him before any more animals get hurt.

“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.”

Douglas County Animal Care & Services
Source:
Douglas County Animal Care & Services

We’re so glad that Bob has now found a good home where he can relax and enjoy the love he deserves. Bob’s story thankfully has the purr-fect happy ending!

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