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My fiancee received a call from his son saying that a cat had been crying outside their home all night. He knew immediately after he told me about the call, we would be going over to their house. When I saw him, my heart was broken.

CAT. PHOTO: PIXABAY / Михаил Прокопенко

He was older, skinny and covered with hundreds of fleas. He tried to walk to us but fell over. I'm not sure if it was from starvation or from all the fleas and bugs swarming him. His face was also swollen because he had abscessed teeth. This cat had been declawed and neutered, so at one point in his life, he had been an indoor cat. We did not need more fur babies. We have three dogs and two rescue cats already, but I refused to leave this cat behind. I slept with him in the spare bedroom and he purred all night.

That morning, we took him to our vet. She told us he was in very bad shape and asked if we wanted to have him put to sleep. I cried and cried and told her that he deserved a chance to live. That's when I named him Trooper (one who does not give up in the face of adversity) and decided to get a second opinion from another vet. The second vet did say he was in bad shape but did not even mention putting him to sleep, thank goodness.

Trooper was placed on antibiotics and had five of his teeth pulled. He did not have any diseases that would harm my other cats. The vet guessed that he was about 15-years-old and from the condition he was in, he had not been an indoor cat for many years.

PHOTO: ANONYMOUS USER FROM WABASH, IN

Trooper has brought so much joy to us. This guy just wants love, affection, food and lots of naps. We love our Trooper and hope he has many more years with us! He will never be alone on the streets again!

Story submitted by an anonymous user from Wabash, Indiana.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!