Clearly, In Pain, There Was Also A Very Bad Smell Coming From Near His Neck! It Was Clear He Needed Their Help Asap!

They were determined to help him, but first, they needed to trap him. Something odd was stuck around his neck causing a lot of discomfort, writes kittencatpost.

PLEASE BE WARNED: THIS ARTICLE DOES CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTURBING!

It was Valentine’s Day. However, instead of making the day about their love for another human being, Kimberly Saxelby, and, Chris Gattas, made the day about caring for animals in need.

They had found a stray ginger cat with something strange firmly fixed around his head. He was in pain and looked very uncomfortable. He had been lying in the shade under a parked car for about an hour.

They set their trap, however not knowing if he would enter it, they had taken the precaution of also bringing nets. In the end, these would prove handy as they ended up having to chase him, finally cornering him in an old shed.

Chris’s lightning-fast reflexes enabled him to catch the stray as he tried to escape the confines of the shed.

What they found once he was captured shocked them both. The poor animal actually had a roll of tape fixed firmly around his neck.

It had been there so long the smell of rotting flesh emanated from the wound.

Animal Control had tried to catch him without success as he was absolutely terrified of humans, so the roll had stayed stuck around his neck day after day, week after week.

They then took the cat to Rancho Cucamonga Animal Shelter to be treated for his injury. “Little did we all know after we sedated him just how bad his condition was till we cut the tape roll off his neck,” Saxelby recalled.

Seeing the cat’s severely infected neck, Saxelby cried. She couldn’t imagine the pain he had been through. On top of that, the injured cat was emaciated and dehydrated, as he couldn’t drink or eat well due to the tape roll firmly stuck around his neck.

Fortunately, the vets were able to treat the wound around his neck and above his ears, after which, he was on the road to recovery. In honor of the day he was saved, the ginger cat was named Valentine.

A few days following his rescue, Valentine began to regain his health. Valentine was initially grumpy and defensive, but slowly, he began to be more trusting toward humans once he was placed in a foster home.

“The foster mama was able to pet his head and let’s just say it made us ohhh so happy!!” Saxelby wrote on Facebook page Saving Sweet Valentine. With a lot of TLC, Valentine adjusted fairly quickly. He loves sleeping in his favorite spot—the sink!

Valentine has gone through much misery, and Saxelby hoped he could find a loving home he truly deserves.

Finally, Saxelby announced in a Facebook post, “Valentine has found his forever loving home and best of all it is with his foster mama April Glatzel who loves him…”

Just look at how handsome he is now! Kudos to Saxelby, Glatzel, and all other rescuers for giving Valentine a second chance at life!

This story originally appeared on kittencatpost.com