Imagine being on the streets all alone with tons of serious health issues and literally no one around to lean on. Sounds tragic, doesn’t it? That’s exactly what this gentleman had gone through 4 years ago and no one, not even himself, thought that he would be able to make it, except one woman. The day Belvedere met Lindsay Haglund, his life was changed drastically.
Belvedere (or Mr. B for short) used to be a sick cat who spent most of his life fending for himself outside on his own. Lindsay spotted him while taking part in a TNR (trap-neuter-return) project in Florida, and his terrible condition immediately broke her heart.
“He’s a tomcat in a pretty rough shape,” the kind woman said. “He had pretty bad dental issues and needs some teeth extracted. And he also has ear mites and ear infections. He’s FIV+.”
He was too old and sick to be released to his outdoor colony after neuter surgery, and the vet even suggest to put this poor cat to sleep. However, Lindsay wasn’t ready to give up on her new friend yet. So she brought Mr. B home, trying to heal and socialize him.
Needless to say, it wasn’t an easy task at all. The closer Linday looked, the more problems she found. Not to mention he was quite spicy as most other feral cats out there.
“He has a lot of scar tissue and signs of old injuries, pretty much all over his body,” she continued. “Little deposits of bone in his paws where you can see he’d been bitten and it had healed up, and his X-rays were insane.”’
Thankfully, many years on the streets had turned Mr. B into a tough, brave critter. Under Linday’s persistent efforts as well as plenty of love and care, he gradually recovered. After only several weeks, the tabby had transformed into a healthy, content and incredibly sweet cat who knew exactly how to express his affection toward his favorite human.
Of course, it was also time to say goodbye. A nice couple in North California fell in love with this adorable feline, so Lindsay drove Mr. B all the way to his new home herself. She knew that he would always be happy there.
It didn’t take long for the charming guy to settle in, and he got along pretty well with his new sister River too.
Later, Lindsay moved to Corpus Christi, Texas and founded the Coastal Bend Cat Rescue with her friends. And, according to what she shared on Instagram, it was Mr. B who motivated and inspired her to keep up with her passion.
“Thank you Mr. B, for trusting me enough to accept what I had to offer, & for having a huge impact in my life when I needed it most,” she wrote. “In the world of rescue they often say “who rescued who?” … and that certainly applied with this special guy. Shortly after his rescue I moved across the country to South Texas. Mr. B inspired me to start a 501c3 cat rescue @coastalbendcats (with an amazing team of fellow rescuers), and to make rescue & TNR a part of my life forever.”
Watch his moving rescue here:
Please share Mr. B’s touching and inspiring story with your loved ones!
