He arrived unable to breathe properly, unable to eat, and only minutes from death. Five weeks later, a tiny Texas kitten now called Elmer has been adopted by the woman who helped nurse him back fromone of the grimmest animal rescues seen this spring.
Elmer was brought into the Humane Society of North Texasin Fort Worth on 31 March after a passer-by found the six-week-old kitten submerged in a bucket of industrial white glue. By the time he reached the shelter, the adhesive had hardened across his face and body, sealing around his eyes and mouth and leaving him dangerously dehydrated. Staff said he could neither drink nor groom himself and was close to suffocating.
Every day, pets in crisis arrive at the Humane Society of North Texas, relying on the dedication of our staff and the compassion of our community. Together, that partnership makes it possible to...
'A Good Samaritan brought six-week-old Elmer to us after finding him stuck in a bucket of industrial adhesive. Covered from ear to tail, the thick substance left him unable to eat, drink, or properly care for himself, and he arrived severely dehydrated and in critical need of help,' the shelter wrote on its post.
What makes this striking is how little room there was for trial and error. Shelter veterinarians first attempted olive oil and dish soap, neither of which worked. The glue would not lift. The team then turned to canola oil, using nearly two gallons over several hours while manually massaging the adhesive from Elmer's fur in painstaking stages.
'Today, Elmer is recovering safely in foster care, finally able to rest, gain strength, and experience comfort without pain. While he still has healing ahead due to the glue removal, he's already showing his personality, sticking close to anyone offering warmth and affection,' they wrote.
Misty Mendes, director of shelter medicine at the Humane Society of North Texas, said the kitten would probably have died within minutes had he not been brought in when he was.
That assessment was not dramatic shelter language. It was the reality of his condition.
By the end of the first treatment, Elmer's grey-and-white coat had finally emerged from beneath the glue. Staff wrapped him in gauze to allow the oil to continue loosening hardened patches, then repeated the process the next day with further soaking and multiple baths.
The shelter posted photographs of the kitten's condition online in mid-April. The response was immediate. Hundreds of adoption enquiries flooded in, enough for the organisation to create a dedicated email account just to manage requests from people wanting to take him home.
Source: International Business Times UK
