The internet has been left in tears after watching the remarkable transformation of a cat who was rescued from a hoarder’s house.
The footage documents S’mores’ journey, highlighting his start as “blind and abandoned in an awful situation.” It then transitions to uplifting clips of the cat playing in his new home, with text overlaid stating he is “so loved in his new forever home.”
Animal rescue group Puppy Kitty NYC shared the tear-jerking clip to their TikTok account @puppykittynyc. Viewers see a team of rescuers wearing white protective coveralls remove the door to the apartment, which they discover is crowded with items—so it’s no surprise that the seven-year-old cat was found under the person’s belongings.
Newsweek spoke to Meagan Licari, 39, president of Puppy Kitty NYC, who said: “Unfortunately, hoarding cases are super common.”
Licari explained that the organization found out about S’mores and other cats at the property through a local rescue team. According to The Animal Humane Society (AHS) around 250,000 animals are victims of hoarding per year. The reason behind hoarding is hard to pinpoint but it is often down to mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety.
It is often misunderstood by the public as malicious or evil, but it is rarely so, reports AHS. Both law enforcement and mental health professionals are increasingly recognizing the need for a more empathetic and less judgmental approach to hoarding.
Viewing it as a psychiatric illness allows for more effective treatment and reduces the likelihood of recurrence, ultimately benefiting the animals involved.
A study by Mississippi State University found that pet owners with hoarding tendencies risk their own well-being and that of their animals. Research indicated that households with eight or more pets showed worse health outcomes for both humans and animals.
