Last October in a park in the Bronx, New York, a rail-thin ginger tabby was found, nearly starved to death. He was taken to a shelter, but because of his condition, was put on the kill list.
When a woman named Hannah got an alert about a cat about to be euthanized at a nearby shelter, she called them immediately to halt the process. She and her boyfriend Danny had been wanting to adopt an older cat.
When they saw the skinny tabby, they knew he was the one.
Named JJ Swattington, the emaciated adult cat weighed in at a mere 7 pounds.
The couple adopted JJ, letting him sleep, eat, and cuddle his way back to health. Within 6 months, the cat had nearly doubled in weight!
“JJ was all skin and bones. He was 7 pounds when he was found, and now he’s up to about 13 pounds but his appetite still knows no bounds,” said Danny in a story by LoveMeow. And that’s not all; JJ’s transformation has been so amazing, that his age is estimated to be less than when the couple adopted him in the first place!
“The shelter that found him estimated his age at 10 but as he gets healthier he seems younger and more spry! Our best guess is that he’s in the 6-8 range,” Danny said in the story.
Feeling healthy and happy, the kitty has come a long way in a short period of time. “When we first got JJ, he was extremely frail so he did a lot of curling up in bed and slept/ate most of the day. He would also purr non stop as a coping mechanism…I’d say about a month later he was much more active and was in more of a mood to explore the apartment,” explained Danny.
Now, this kitty is just like any other. He’s happy, hungry, curious, and playful. And of course, he still takes plenty of naps!
Looks like this cat has found his version of the Fountain of Youth: eating well, taking naps, and lots and lots of love!
Follow the pretty kitty’s adventures on Instagram: @jj_swattington.
(h/t: LoveMeow)