Meet Abbas, a kitten pulled from an underfunded, rural shelter in South Carolina following recent historic flooding.
The situation is dire for animals in areas of South Carolina, where dogs and cats are crowding into already overwhelmed shelters from the recent unprecedented flooding.
Brother Wolf Animal Rescue of Asheville, North Carolina saved Abbas when they were rescuing animals from the flood zones.
On October 17, three vans from Brother Wolf Animal Rescue were sent to flood ravaged areas of South Carolina to bring back animals in desperate need. On board were 55 cats, dogs,puppies and kittens from some of the poorest shelters in the state.
Many- especially the youngest – suffered from untreated respiratory infections and ringworm.
One 4-month old kitten had the rescuers particularly worried. While still back in South Carolina, he kept falling over while trying to rub up against his rescuers’ legs.
The rescuers felt they could not leave the kitten behind, even if his transport was just to give him a peaceful ending in Asheville.
Staaff went to work providing food, fluids and supportive care to the kitten. They named him Abbas – meaning lion – to give him the strength to survive, and they hoped for the best.
Much to the rescuers’ astonishment and joy, Abbas was eating on his own the next day. Mostly, though, what he wanted was to be held and loved.
Two days after that, he was eating and breathing better, looked greatly improved and had gained a pound. Above all, his rescuers say, Abbas really just wants love.
Denise Bitz, BWAR President and Founder, wrote about Abbas at the organization’s website, saying, in part:
This sweet little boy is Abbas. He’s one of the additional 55 cats and dogs we rescued from the flood zones in South Carolina over the weekend. Abbas is about 14 weeks old and barely weighs just two pounds. That’s about a third of what he should weigh.
In the video, you can see what he looked like when we found him, just skin and bones, eyes crusted over and protruding. Poor little guy- he walked right up to us seeking our attention and just collapsed at our feet. We cleaned the crust from his eyes and placed him in a carrier to transport him back to Asheville.
Truth is we really didn’t think he’d survive the trip back.
Abbas means Lion in Arabic. And this little guy has the heart of a lion- he’s such a survivor. Abbas is receiving constant care and observation from our medical team, and just three days later, he’s so strong and fighting for life!
Abbas is such an inspiration to me. Seeing him so full of life now, it’s hard to believe that just a few hours made all the difference for him.
Watch the BWAR video with Abbas and his story:
Thank God for angels like all of you who go into areas to rescue animals. You are truely the best of mankind !