When they rescued him from a basement hellhole, the matted cat looked like something out of a horror film. After he was shaved and freed from five pounds of garbage-filled fur, the real Sinbad emerged.
Now he’s a social media star with 6,000 followers on Instagram, according to People Pets. His new cat dad, Elliott Serrano, a humane education manager for the Illinois Anti-Cruelty Society, spoke to People and described the moment he realized that Sinbad was a keeper.
“It was the second day he was home with me. I was lying on my bed with Sinbad on my chest. He was just purring and chirping as I petted him. He looked at me with those big, round eyes, all content and happy with where he was,” said Serrano, whose humane investigation team rescued Sinbad in December. “That was when I said to myself ‘aw heck, I can’t let him go.’”
Serrano began caring for Sinbad after he was liberated from the filthy, matted fur coat that made his life miserable.
Sinbad’s former owner was a mentally-ill elderly man who could not care for a pet. He surrendered Sinbad after someone reported the horrific living conditions in the man’s home.
Sinbad is now a healthy, happy feline who enjoys grooming himself, Serrano told People. “I brush him regularly, and his coat has been coming in very well. I’m amazed that he’s recovered so quickly!”
