“He turned out to be even more beautiful than what we expected.”
From Trapped and Broken to Beautifully Loved: Timothy’s Journey
Last year, a rescuer from Street Paws in Bali stumbled upon a heartbreaking sight — a frail cat, his tiny frame nearly invisible beneath a layer of thick, black glue. He was alone, clearly starving, and barely able to move. The glue, likely from an industrial mouse trap, had turned his already difficult life into a nightmare.
Without hesitation, the rescuer gently scooped him up and rushed him to the vet.
It took hours for the veterinary team to carefully remove the glue clinging to his delicate fur. They named him Timothy, wrapped him in warmth, and gave him the food, fluids, and love he so desperately needed. Still, Timothy was weak. He could barely lift his head — but he knew he was safe.
Eli, one of the Street Paws team members, visited Timothy daily at the clinic. Slowly but surely, the little cat started to heal. His body grew stronger, his eyes more alert. And once he was well enough, Timothy left the clinic to live with a foster — none other than his original rescuer, Mayang.
Under Mayang’s care and surrounded by her rescue cats, Timothy began to thrive.
“He gained weight, and his fur started growing,” Eli said in a video for The Dodo.
Weeks passed. As the glue became a distant memory, Timothy’s true beauty began to shine. His soft gray-and-white coat filled in, glossy and thick. His once-weary eyes lit up with curiosity and joy. The transformation was astonishing.
“He turned out to be even more beautiful than what we expected,” Eli said.
But something else was happening, too. As Timothy bloomed, so did the bond between him and Mayang. Somewhere along the way, the foster arrangement became permanent.
“It was a classic foster fail,” Eli said with a smile.
Now, Timothy lives out his days in a loving home with a devoted mom and a feline family of his own. The streets, the glue, the fear — all of it is behind him.
“He’s just so happy,” Eli said.
And truly, for a cat who had once known only pain and loneliness, happiness is the most beautiful transformation of all.