As soon as he saw his rescuers, the cat seemed to know he was saved. He approached them with a gentle head butt and a rub against their legs. The poor animal was in a pitiful state – undernourished, with dreadlocks of matted fur, and half of his nose and ears missing. Shar Khan, estimated to be around 9 years old, was found wandering as a stray in Southern California and brought to Baldwin Park Animal Shelter. Initially, the staff thought he was terminally ill and put him on the euthanasia list until they discovered his microchip.

According to Toby Wisneski, the founder and CEO of Leave No Paws Behind, a nonprofit organization that takes care of older and ill pets, the law dictates that animal shelters must keep lost animals for ten days to allow the owners to reclaim them. However, despite this requirement, no one had come forward to claim the pets after several days.

The animal shelter made efforts to reach out to different rescue organizations to seek assistance for the cat named Shar Khan. However, they failed to get a response from Leave No Paws Behind. Fortunately, Wisneski was able to discover Shar Khan’s situation through a post on Facebook.

Upon discovering that someone had tagged her on a post, Wisneski decided to investigate. Upon reaching the post, she laid eyes on Shar Khan, and she knew she had to act immediately. She asked her son to visit Baldwin Park to assess the situation and report back to her. Despite already planning to rescue him, the way Shar Khan bonded with her son and grandson at the shelter solidified her decision. He approached them, giving them gentle head butts and cuddles, almost as if he knew he had found his savior, and everything would be alright.

Once Shar Khan’s stray hold was over, Wisneski immediately took him to the veterinarian for a thorough checkup. The diagnosis revealed that the cat had early stages of kidney disease, blood problems, and other medical concerns. Additionally, there was an issue with his nose that needed attention.

According to Wisneski, the doctor mentioned that the cause of the nose damage could be a significant infection that gradually destroyed it. Other possible causes could be abuse or cancer. However, the true cause cannot be identified until the dog is healthy enough to undergo a biopsy. Despite these concerns, Wisneski assures that all problems can be resolved.

According to Wisneski, Shar Khan has some health problems, but they aren’t severe enough to justify euthanizing him. More importantly, Shar Khan isn’t experiencing any discomfort and appears to be happy to still be alive.

A lady embracing her rescued feline.