Coconut was just another filthy, injured stray cat walking the chilly Boston streets in February 2016 until a lady saw him and realized she had to assist him.

The completely white, fluffy stray appeared to be in such horrible form that he wouldn’t be able to survive much longer as a street cat. His ears were scarred and bloodied. And he snarled at everyone who came close to him.

For almost 30 years, Joni Nelson, the founder of Boston’s Forgotten Felines (BFF), has been rescuing cats. Coconut was taken off the streets with the intention of neutering and rereleasing him. But, even though he wasn’t tame, she knew she couldn’t let him go.

“Poor Coconut,” Nelson continued, “was a shambles.” He was dirty and had a urinary tract infection, goopy eyes, ear mites, a limp, and recurrent diarrhea. “However, it was his obnoxious demeanor that made him difficult to like.”

Nelson was still cruel, despite the fact that he helped him get better by giving him medicine every day. “He was a real pain to feed… He’d never glance up, but when I unlocked his cage, he’d lash out.”

Nelson recognized he wasn’t always responding to visual signals and determined he was half blind. “After a lengthy period of time, he began to settle down,” Nelson recalled.

“I could clean his cage and put food down without him attacking me, but he growled if someone went by his cage. Even yet, he never raised his head fully, constantly staring down.”

Coconut has come such a long way after being rescued from the streets a year ago, but he still requires a permanent home.

“It’s been genuinely amazing to observe Coconut’s metamorphosis from fearful abandoned street cat to the kitten he is now, one that likes to be caressed and loved,” said Danapel C. de Veer, one of the other BFF volunteers. “Love, patience, security, and kindness can do wonders for a feline like Coconut.”

BFF feeds over 160 homeless cats per day, while also saving tame strays from the streets and finding them forever homes. To help BFF, you can make a donation.