A stray tabby cat named Carlton frequented the same window every day for more than a year. When he visited, a young teenager who lived there saw him and offered the ravenous cat anything she could spare.

It became obvious that Carlton was ready for a simpler existence as soon as he began to enter the home.

Then, in May, the teenager heard Carlton crying outside and noticed a laceration behind his ear. She knew she couldn’t leave such a friendly cat on the street — especially when he was coming to the window begging for help.

So she and her sister reached out to Little Wanderers NYC for help.

“It’s been the worst rescue season on record — we used to say it every year, but this time it’s really true,” Lisa Scroggins, cofounder of Little Wanderers, told The Dodo. “We’ve never received so many rescue requests for kittens, moms and sick and injured animals.”

The family dropped Carlton off with Scroggins, who brought him to the vet. The vet treated Carlton’s ear and discovered that he was FIV-positive, a virus common in stray cats — especially males who may wind up in fights over food and territory.

While Carlton’s diagnosis won’t affect his health with the right treatments, Scroggins knew it would make it harder to find him a family due to the misconception that FIV-positive and FIV-negative cats cannot live in a home together.

But if any street cat deserves a second chance at life as a family pet, it’s Carlton. The sweet, gentle boy wants nothing more than to be snuggled and loved on.

According to Carianne Loughlin, “He’ll simply flop on your lap or headbutt you until you give him pets with every single person he’s met so far.” “He simply adores people so much. It’s really cute.”

Carlton would thrive in a household where he would receive a lot of care and would either live alone or with another female cat. However, Carlton is not too choosy when it comes to individuals.

He warms up quickly, likes everyone, and is quite cuddly, according to Loughlin. “He is a large lad as well. He resembles an enormous cuddly mountain lion.”