You wouldn’t in your wildest imagination ever picture getting face to face with a creature resembling an ‘Alien,’ an abominable crossbreed, or some nasty combination of both. Paul Russel went to check on his relative’s house when he had this rare encounter.
He felt his heart in his mouth when he shone his flashlight across the room only to barely catch a glimpse of an identifiable and relatively fast creature with a deep growl dash into the cellar.
1. Old Home.
Paul’s relative was well known for his solitude. He, however, had to move from his home in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, closer to his kids when he got sick. The older man in his old house lived alone for decades.
The man loved his space, so no one is really to blame for the chain of events after leaving his house and going to the nursing hom
2. Nursing home rules.
Paul’s relative, the older adult, was taken into a nursing home that did not allow pets meaning he could not go with his 17-year-old cat, Siam. Left with no caretaker in the older man’s house, Siam was to fend for himself.
The older man must have been missing his 17-year-old companion, but rules are rules.
3. Left but not Forgotten
Paul was known by many to be a true animal lover. With him and his wife having a few cats already, they were keen to adopt a new one, Siam. The thought of him being all alone touched the Russels. Read in the next item how the story continues.
4. State of the house
After Paul opened the house and tried flipping two wall switches, he realized that he would need to check on the circuit breakers.
Paul went back to his car, took a flashlight, and returned to the house. He shone it across the hallway and almost dropped it from the surprise in front of him.
5. Nasty smell.
As shocking as the sight of the hallway was, the smell of it was equally as appalling. Well, come to think of it, that was the expectation, a fully functional house being vacated suddenly with everything left behind. The smell of dumpiness mixed with the dust and kitchenware was suffocating
6. Heap of trash.
The whole room was stack up with trash almost up to the ceiling. All sorts of garbage were in the house, boxes, newspapers that date up to years back, broken furniture, stacked up dishes, both clean and few used. Everything looked like it was just about to fall.
7. Blacked windows.
All windows blacked out, only allowing close to no natural light into the house. The blacked-out windows showed a series of rather strange scratch marks, which sent a chill down Paul’s spine. He must have been brave to continue staying in that house even a second longer.
8. Reason to worry.
Seeing the weird scratch marks, adding to the state of the floor and darkness, Paul had quite a few reasons to worry about, and he kept thinking of all sorts of animals that could be hiding in the trash; rodents, snakes, or even raccoons, his imagination went wild. Against all his survival better judgment, Paul slowly moved through the house.
9. What happened here?
As he went through the house, he got a chance to have a closer look at the scratches, some on the wall, leaving the wallpaper in tatters and some on the blacked-out windows. The scene was quite unsettling at this point. Paul was fighting every nerve in his body that kept trying to convince him to leave.
10. Regret.
He kept thinking of the safety of his house and why he went to come to this place. Everything was all over the place, and to top it all off, it was pit black, and he couldn’t see anything without his flashlight. Paul gathered some courage and called Siam with a soft voice.
11. Good Kitty Kitty
The thought of being watched was at the brink of making him bolt. Paul couldn’t wait to get the heck out of that place, but the cat was a priority, so he had to suck it up and move ahead. “Here, kitty kitty, nice kitty,” Peter called Siam without any response.
12. Alone and terrified
Tiptoeing into the kitchen, Paul found Siam’s food bowl upon which he added some food. The cat, for some reason, did not come to the kitchen as Paul was expecting. “Where is he?” he thought.
Paul decided to take on more look across the room but did not find it.
13. Hiding spot
He knew that if it was hiding in this mess, the only way to find it is going deeper into the house and find the circuit breaker. He heard a strange noise and was not sure what exactly that was. Furthermore, he was curious. Read in the next item how the story continues.
14. Strange sound
Suddenly, Paul heard a loud thump coming from the bathroom at the end of the hallway. He walked cautiously towards the sound, trembling like a leaf. He opened the door with a gentle kick and then pulled the shower curtain to reveal what was behind it. Read in the next item how the story continues
15. Relief.
Paul opened the curtain cautiously to reveal a hungry Siam. Paul almost let off a huge sigh of relief since his mission was now complete. He was staring at the cat, trying to decide how to handle it, when a different sound came from the darkness, which almost made Paul let out a scream.
16. Not alone
A scratchy growl, which was low-pitched, came from across the hall. He had the cat in sight, so he kept wondering what else could make such a noise in the house. He thought it to be a raccoon even convinced himself could be why the cat was in hiding.
17. Strange creature
Against his primal instincts, Paul started searching around, and suddenly a giant creature came rushing from under the bed and down the cellar. He tried keeping himself from overthinking and go ahead and chase it, but he couldn’t gather enough courage. Read in the next item how the story continues
18. Round two
In a bizarre turn of events, Paul decided to come back to the house the following day, on this occasion, with his wife, Jill. Armed with traps and flashlights, they headed downstairs into the cellar to look for the creature. Read in the next item how the story continues.
19. Two is better than one.
With his wife by his side, Mr. Russel was braver than before. He scanned the cellar with his flashlight and that of Jill. After having a careful look, they eventually saw it. They found the creature backed up in a corner and thought this was the right time to catch it.
20. Feisty
Naturally, the creature’s instinct is flight or fight. It tried to look for outlets without getting close to the Russel’s without success.
Next is fight, although the creature was not big enough to rip them apart, it could still inflict some serious injuries, and they had to be wary of that.
21. Trapped.
It took Paul and Jill a considerable effort to corner the poor creature and struggled a bit more to get it into a cage.
Jill stood and had a nice look at the cage at the creature, which Paul had described to her the previous day as a dusty, giant-eyed creature.
22. Long ride.
They opted to go to the vet to determine what it was. The pet-loving couple took the creature and put it in the car, ready to go to the vet. That ride must have felt like an eternity. Imagine carrying an identified animal in your vehicle and driving it around. Read in the next item how the story continues.
23. Vet store.
On their way to the vet store, Jim and Paul had a lot of time to catch their breath and absorb the fright they had in that old house. The vets were baffled just as the couple as to what exactly can the animal was. Eventually, the professionals did it, and they identified the animal.
24. A large cat?
After careful examination, the Vets determined that the animal was, in fact, a large Feline, a cat! The considerable amount of fur on the cat’s body and the fear the poor creature had made it difficult for one to identify it at first glance. Read in the next item how the story continues.
25. Anesthesia
The team gave the creature anesthesia to enable a closer, undisturbed look at it without harming it or themselves. It was named Hidey due to its excellent hiding skills. The vets continued examining the cat, trying to make sure that it was indeed in good health. Read more.
26. Unrecognizable.
Hidey was trapped in its fur partly due to its overweight and partly because the owner thought he had run away. She was so covered in hair to the point that if it saw its reflection, she wouldn’t know what it was. Read in the next item how the story continues.
27. Rasta cat.
Covered in his fur and without grooming, Hidey developed dreadlocks. Lack of grooming contributed highly to its lack of identification. This much fur was not only intertwined and untidy but cumbersome for the cat. The following line of action was obviously to deal with the excess fur. But how?
28. Fresh Cuts.
To remove the excess fur, the vets decided to give Hidey a fresh shave. The vets began slowly cutting the masses of hair on Hidey while he was still under GA. Even the professionals confessed not to have seen anything like that before. Read in the next item how the story continues.
29. Makeover
The medical team managed to shave off the cat’s excess fur and noticed an improvement in the cat. The cat had lost two pounds immediately after the shave. She was the furriest cat the shelter had ever seen. Sadly, Hidey still had no home. Read in the next item how the story continues.
30. Not so ugly anymore.
After the shave, the cat looked utterly different. The fur, apart from making mobility difficult, made Hidey look hideous. The shave made her instantly recognizable to anyone who glanced at it. Jim and Paul left home with the hopes of adopting one cat (Siam) and ended up with two, including Hidey. Read in the next item how the story continues.
31. Two pets richer.
The once scared Siam and terrified Hidey headed to their new home with wonderful owners. With three other pets initially, Paul’s family was growing. Knowing what goes in the mind of an animal can be pretty tricky, especially for a wild one. Read in the next item how the story continues.
32. Trust is earned.
Trust is their most valuable trait, which they rarely give to anyone. It definitely must be earned hard, everyone knows that. Whether or not Hidey will grow back to trusting humans is a question that the new owners would answer in time. Right now, it is too early to tell.
33. A new beginning.
Hidey is now a roommate to Siam and another cat. The couple also has two dogs making it a vibrant home. Siam already looks happy and healthy. Her movement has increased significantly and might just shed off some of the extra weight she has. Read in the next item how the story continues.
34. Not an Alien.
Paul explained that Hidey had been neglected for a long time and has taken a toll on him. He has had to drag her from under the bed, where he hides a lot. Holding her has helped developed a little bit of trust, and she purrs a lot too. She, too, likes affection.
35. One step at a time
Paul is determined to get his pet into the proper physical and mental status. Mr. Russel has been introducing Hidey slowly to people. In the last two days, Paul reports that Hidey now comes to the kitty chair to sit or have a nap. Read in the next item how the story continues.
36. Part of the Family.
Although owning a pet seems like a big responsibility, its companionship has a lot of positive impact on the elderly.
Dan Rossi, CEO of Animal League Shelter, with his expertise, gave very sound advice on pets, how to care for them, which ones are suited for what environment, and the ones requiring the most attention.
37. Home for all
Dan was keen to inform people that they should not turn away any stranded, abandoned, or lost pet. He primarily advocated for the system to set up for these kinds of situations. If no solution came up on how to handle them, then animal shelters like Animal League Shelter should always open their doors for the poor animals.
38. Survive, adapt and thrive.
An animal has first of all to survive, then adapt to its new environment, and finally thrive. Hidey survived abandonment now has a new home. She has had to adjust, and she is doing so well. Recovery doesn’t happen in an instance, but the psychological trauma seems to be healing; she is beginning to trust people.
39. Bright future.
Just like all beings, Hidey likes affection. She comes off as scared but is an adorable cat. She is mainly alone, but sometimes seen in the company of others, she relates well. Rough around the edges but a big bundle of joy to the Russel’s’. Read in the next item how the story ends.
40. Happy ending.
Jill says that in six months, Hidey will be running the house. With the professional care she got and the cuddles from her owners, she had a full recovery. With the excess fur removed, fresh one had started growing back. Siam, also rescued from the abandoned house, had no trouble adapting to the new environment. The two cats are now living happily with their new friends and owners
