Across the world, there are thousands of cats who live out their days in a shelter. But if that has got you down, don’t worry, Bored Panda has got you covered.
We’ve gathered some wholesome and heartwarming before and after pics of cats who found their forever home. We also got in touch with Joey Lusvardi, Certified Cat Behavior Consultant at Class Act Cats to learn more about our furry friends. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and share your thoughts below.
More info: Class Act Cats
#1 Mrrmrr's Glow-Up. From Starving Rescue To Pampered Princess
Image credits: AxmxZ
#2 Before vs. After My Dad Rescued This Kitten
Image credits: Comprehensive-Chard1
#3 My Rescue Took In This Underweight, Matted Cat, And I Can’t Believe The Transformation
Philip weighed a little over 2 pounds, even though he was 13 months old. His fur was so matted that it had to be shaved. Fortunately, he didn’t mind the sweaters that kept him warm and protected his fragile skin. He is much healthier now and has all of his fur back!
Image credits: discojing
Bored Panda got in touch with Joey Lusvardi, Certified Cat Behavior Consultant at Class Act Cats and he was kind enough to answer some of our questions. First and foremost, cats can often be pretty aloof, so we wanted to hear what sort of behavior is evidence that your cat likes you.
“Cats can show affection and that they like us in a variety of ways. The most straightforward one is that your cat will seek out spending time near you. They may not always be sitting on your lap, but they may curl up next to you or will follow you from room to room. Your cat may make biscuits and purr.”
#4 This Is Timon, A Cat I Wanted To Bury When I First Saw Him Because I Thought He Was Dead. Now He Is 2 Years Old And Thriving
Image credits: TasneemEN
#5 One Year Of Good Care And Love
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#6 Minnie At Rescue And Now. She Is Still Nervous, But We Are Getting There
Image credits: Surreygirl7
“Cats might also do a behavior called bunting where they give you a “love headbutt.” This is a way of them saying they want their pheromones all over you because you’re something they like. It’s not an aggressive behavior despite potentially seeming aggressive. As odd as it may sound, your cat tolerating some of the annoying things we do to cats is another sign they really like you. For example, if you pick your cat up in a way that is uncomfortable and your cat lets you, that means they like and trust you enough to at least put up with being picked up temporarily. That doesn’t mean you should do things to annoy them, but it’s a sign that they like you despite how you interact with them.”
#7 Casper's Before And After
Image credits: ElectricalTravel1671
#8 My Princess Before And After 6 Months Of Adoption
Image credits: Bulky-Message-192
#9 She Was In The Middle Of The Street And Riddled With Worms. She Is Now Healthy, Loved, And Very Ungrateful
Image credits: Nyx_Lycoris
Cat owners are probably also aware of the ruckus your feline can make, particularly, for some reason, at night, so we wanted to learn more about it. “The “nightly freakout” is likely a case of the zoomies. The technical term is a frenetic random activity period. Basically, the cats will get a sudden burst of energy and run around seemingly without purpose.”
#10 Harry Before And After Adoption
Image credits: supbunny24
#11 Tossed In A Dumpster, Covered In Paint, And Close To Starvation, Kittens Have Officially Been Adopted. From Certain Death To A Happy Ending. I'll Miss Them
Image credits: reddit.com
#12 This Is Barley. My Son And I Found Her By The Road. She Was Very Thin And Covered In Fleas. Now She's Healthy And Simply The Sweetest Little Cat Ever
Image credits: davyhaygallant
“We’re not fully sure why they happen, but one of the most likely explanations has to do with a cat’s hunting cycle. Cats are crepuscular so they are most active around sunrise and sunset. The night zoomies are a manifestation of the cat being ready to hunt and their normal sleep/wake cycle. It could also be due to boredom or a lack of stimulation. If you’re not playing with your cat regularly, you might see them run around at night because they don’t have anything to do. Some cats will also get a sudden burst of energy after they poop. If your cat typically poops at night, it may be the poop zoomies.”
#13 Farmers Were Feeding Kittens To Their Dogs, And I Rescued This Beauty. Before vs. After
A coworker was asking if anyone would adopt kittens because her parents were letting their dogs eat them. I was horrified and volunteered to foster some kittens until I could find homes for them. By the time I found out, there were only two kittens left, and someone else had claimed the other one. I didn’t plan on keeping her. I just wanted to keep her safe.
Two years later, and I still can’t find a home for TieDye.
Image credits: Velvetymican
#14 Baby Pearl Was Found Under The Dumpsters Behind A Restaurant And Is Doing Much Better Now
Image credits: broncos_mcgee
#15 Took A Chance, And Decided To Rehabilitate This Boy Instead Of Letting Him Be Put Down. One Of The Best Decisions Of My Life. Before vs. After
Image credits: LoiteringLizard
Similarly, we were also interested to learn if you could train a cat like you would a dog. “Cats can absolutely be trained in similar ways to dogs. Cats are very good at picking up on patterns that get them things they like whether that’s a tasty treat or attention from a favorite human. If you are intentional and careful about rewarding them for a behavior you want them to do more, you can eventually add in a cue to get them to do the behavior in response to it. Cats can do a lot of really neat tricks.”
#16 I Found This Poor Baby Out In A Cold Acting Quite Lethargic, And I Wasn’t Sure If She Was Okay. Thankfully, There Was A Happy Ending. Before And After
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#17 Nebula Found Me About Two Years Ago, And I'm So Happy She Did. Before And After
Image credits: gay__mothman
#18 I Rescued 3 Kittens From My Construction Job Site. Now They Are Grown And Very Loved By Me
Image credits: realogy
“An easy one to start with is teaching your cat to touch their nose to your finger. Present your finger to your cat and wait for them to touch their nose to it. When they do, say something like, “great” or “treat.” Quickly give them a treat. Repeat this until they’re doing it reliably. Once they are doing it without issue, you can teach your cat to follow your finger around by gradually adding in movement.”
#19 Bella Was Found In A Takeaway Box On The Streets In Egypt Last Year. Now She's At Her New Home In The UK
Image credits: chaostrulyreigns
#20 Princess Sasha, AKA Princess Scruff Scruff. Found In A Trashcan. She Was Shouting So Loudly To Be Saved. It Was Touch-And-Go But The Staff At The Vet Were So Amazed By Her Spirit
She had to have four major operations, but she has some vision in her remaining eye. She is feisty, fearless, and a total diva. She loves nothing more than getting grubby in dust baths in the summer.
Image credits: Hydee59
#21 I Adopted A Barn Kitty. Was Told He Wouldn’t Get Too Big. One Year Later, Here We Are
Image credits: tykneedanser
While not really that practical, I taught my cat Zoloft to press the Y button on my Nintendo Switch. When I got to the end of Tears of the Kingdom, I had him press the button to deliver the finishing blow to the final boss. I like to say I trained him to vanquish evil. If your cat is physically capable of doing it, you can train them to do almost anything. He was a very smart cat! Not every cat will be as easily trained on every behavior and not every behavior will be easy to teach, but you get a lot of things on a cue if you work at it. Another training tip is to focus on getting your cat to do the behavior reliably before attempting to add in a cue. Your cat doesn’t understand what you’re saying and isn’t ignoring you to be a jerk. They likely don’t know what you’re asking them to do and it will just confuse them if you try to get them to sit by saying “sit” repeatedly when they don’t know what that means yet.”
#22 Before And After Of Ninja When We Found Him
Image credits: Catslifephils
#23 My Cat Is Named Lukas (Nicknames Are Smol Cat And Fluffy). My Stepdad Found Him In A Peanut Field In The Rain. He Was So Small When We Got Him, But He's Such A Big, Beautiful Boy Now
Image credits: reddit.com
#24 I Rescued A Kitten With Mange, But He's Feeling Better. I Named Him Vincent
Image credits: mad_intuition
Lastly, we wanted to hear if he had any remaining tips and tricks. “Not the most exciting thing to train in the world, but it’s a really good idea to get your cat used to taking medications before they need them. It isn’t always easy to get a cat to take medications, but if you prepare ahead of time you can go slower and it will ultimately be less stressful on both of you. I like hiding medications in an empty gelatin capsule because it masks the taste better than just mixing it in foods.”
#25 The First Day We Met Him vs. Now
Asan was a stray cat who lost his paw to a stray dog while he was trying to escape. Luckily he was found by a friendly vet and got amputated before huge blood lost. Unfortunately he wasn't able to grow up with his brothers and sisters but we're so blessed to have him in our home.
Image credits: theerduvan
#26 I Rescued My 2nd Kitty. Before vs. After
Image credits: reddit.com
#27 Meet Basti, One Of Our Rescued Cats. We Picked Him Up From The Opposite Side Of Some Coffee Shop
Image credits: shinrossxx
“A pill launcher is a great tool that you can get your cat to use by making it a fun game. Get them used to licking a tasty treat off the end of the pill launcher. Begin feeding them small pieces of treats with the pill launcher so it becomes associated with some good. After they know that the pill launcher means good things, you can occasionally sneak an empty capsule in between the treats.”
#28 Miso's Progress Of Getting Better And Becoming A Mama's Boy
One day I saw this little cat curled up on the grass while I was walking to the park I worked at. A few days went by and I started to get to work early to look for him, and finally I found him again in a hole in the grass. I called up my boyfriend, and he headed over with a towel, some tuna, and garden gloves.
My boyfriend took him to the emergency vet while I was at work, and as a placeholder name, he put down Miso. After 8 hours of waiting, he was diagnosed with sarcoptic mange along with infections on his ears where the skin was scratched raw, dehydrated, and weighed around 7 pounds. They estimated he was a year old. He stayed quarantined in our bathroom and stayed very food-motivated due to being starved for so long.
Despite eating 1.5x the amount for a cat his age due to being underweight, he still wasn’t gaining weight and at the vet visit we found out he had a tapeworm and the bloodwork determined he also was FIV. This was disheartening to hear, but our veterinarian assured us Miso would be able to have just as fulfilling of a life as any other cat with the right care and precautions.
Miso is now looking very handsome at a nice 10.5 lbs, and I never stop spoiling him with new treats, an automatic feeder, toys, and a water fountain. He’s my baby boy.
Image credits: Big_City573
#29 I Adopted A Stray Cat And The Whole Process Was Very Fulfilling
Image credits: lingling1988316
#30 Crusty's Glow-Up In Five Months. I Hope We Can Help Many More Stray Animals. We Can't Save Them All, But We Can Make A Difference For The Animals We Help
Image credits: Low_Manufacturer2486
“If needed, cover the capsule in a bit of a lickable treat like a Churu or even a small amount of butter to help make it more enjoyable for them. When your cat actually needs a pill, you can just play the pill launcher game with them. This process can (and should) be used to help them get used to getting medications from a syringe, too. Instead of a treat, you can use a bit of diluted Churu or tuna juice.” If you want to see more of his work, check out Class Act Cats.
#31 From Dumpster Kitty To Exercise Supervisor
Image credits: catdoctor
#32 Before And After I Rescued This Old, Toothless Cat Named Music
Image credits: ElectricalTravel1671
#33 I Was Asked To Rescue This Kitten In The Summer Of 2022. Today, I Received New Pictures From Her New Family And Couldn't Believe My Eyes. From Kitten To Beautiful Princess
Image credits: ElectricalTravel1671
#34 We Found This Little Guy Running Around A Parking Lot. It Turns Out He Had Lost Part Of His Tail And One Of His Feet. After Many Vet Visits, He Recovered And Became One Of The Sweetest Cats
Image credits: SkrubLord171
#35 From Finding In The Parking Lot Covered In Every Kind Of Parasite, To Absolute Unit
Image credits: dontfeartheringo
#36 Phyllis Before vs. After Our Foster Fail
We found her in a barn at around 5 weeks old, worm-riddled and unhealthy. Four months later, and she’s the sweetest girl in the world, with a little heart on her back.
Image credits: midnight_meat_market
#37 A Cat Showed Up At My Mom's House And Stuck Around. Since Then, He's Been Groomed And Been To The Vet
About a month ago, my mom started talking about this cat, Scrappy, which is hilarious because he’s the sweetest cat I’ve ever been around. She asked if I could help her bathe him before taking him to the vet when I would be in town for Mother's Day this weekend. She helped with the washing part, but he was patient enough to go through hours of gentle combing and mat cutting. I’ve never seen so much flea dirt in my life. Pulled off countless ticks and burrs.
He went to the vet today, and unfortunately, he is FIV and leukemia-positive. My mom and her fiancé haven’t really wanted pets, but this boy just won them over. He’s now an inside baby.
Image credits: federleicht
#38 Picked Bambi Up Off The Street In 2021. She Was A Foster Fail Due To Being A Black Cat. I Think She’s Forgotten Her Rough Beginnings, Given Her Sassy Attitude
Image credits: tusabrat
#39 Our Rescued Cat's Before And After
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#40 Meet 4-Month-Old Reina Bella. She Was Rescued From An Inoperable Car's Engine, Where She Lived During The Winter All By Herself, Covered In Oil
Reina is deaf, but she doesn't let that get in the way of her hours and hours of playtime.
Image credits: reddit.com
#41 I Adopted A 14-Year-Old Pouncer After His Human Mother Died. Sadly, He Was Very Neglected And Needed To Be Shaved Upon Adoption. This Is His One-Year Progress From The Day He Was Rescued
Image credits: ShivsButtBot
#42 Musia's Owner Died, And Her Relatives Threw Her In The Street In Winter When It Was -20°C. I Took Her To The Vet, And Soon After Spaying I Found A New Family For Her
Image credits: ElectricalTravel1671
#43 We Found This Stray In Our Neighborhood Four Months Ago. Suffice To Say He's Doing A Lot Better Now
Image credits: jaketropila
#44 It's Been 3 Months Since I Rescued Gouda
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#45 Before And After Finding The Forever Home
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#46 My Beautiful Girl Chase Before And After
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#47 I Trapped Claude 14 Months Ago. Now Look At Him. This Is What Tuna And Love Can Do
Image credits: ShivsButtBot
#48 One Year Difference
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#49 My Cat, 1 Year After We Rescued Her. She Was Abandoned By Her Mom
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#50 Cheddar Found His Forever Home, And It's Even Better Than We Hoped For Him! I Hate To See Him Go, But He's Going To Be So Loved And Spoiled. Before And After
Image credits: yankeedime
