Locals in the Baldwin Park neighborhood of California discovered a stray ginger tabby with a huge tape roll around his neck. Nobody knew what had happened to the unfortunate cat, but he was clearly in a lot of agony and need immediate assistance. They quickly contacted Animal Control in order to save and assist the cat.

Many people along with rescuers of Animal Control had attempted to catch him, but they were unsuccessful because he was afraid of humans. However, rescuers Kimberly Saxelby and Chris Gattas didn’t give up and decided to try their luck on Valentine’s Day, hoping to bring the ginger feline to safety.

“When we came, we put a trap barely two feet away from him as he slept beneath a car, we waited an hour, but we realized he wasn’t going in due of the tape roll on his head, so we had no alternative but to try to catch him with our nets.” Chris was able to catch him with the pole net when he tried to flee out after pursuing him for a time and cornering him into an old shed,” Kimberly said.

After that, they rushed the cat to Rancho Cucamonga Animal Shelter for medical attention. They managed to calm him down to check the injury around his neck, and they discovered it had been on him for months. The vets at the shelter conducted emergency surgery to clean and fix the area around his entire neck and his ears.

“Little did we all know after we sedated him just how bad his condition was till we cut the tape roll off his neck. It brought tears to my eyes because I couldn’t imagine the pain and suffering this poor sweet cat has been through and for as long as he has. He is very emaciated and dehydrated from not being able to eat or drink well with the tape roll over his head.” said Kimberly.

He was given the name Valentine by the rescuers since he was rescued on Valentine’s Day. Valentine recovered quickly after his therapy and was able to resume normal eating habits without the use of the neck tape. He was still hesitant and timid around others, though.

Thankfully, his demeanor began to change when he was moved into a foster home. Valentine’s foster parents cared for him and helped him learn to trust and love again after being hurt.

“He has gone through so much suffering and agony, and he deserves to be loved.” “I know this cat was formerly not fearful of humans and probably enjoyed human contact,” Kimberly said.

The cat Valentine in desperate need of love and care finally found a forever home, where he is enjoying his happy and loving life. Thanks to Valentine’s rescuers and family for giving him all the love and care that he deserves.

If you love Valentine, you can follow him on his own Facebook account, Saving Sweet Valentine where his foster mom and Saxelby post regular updates about him.