‘Skin and Bone’ Cat Rescued From Vacant House Gets Second Chance at Life

An abandoned cat’s dramatic rescue from a vacant property—and her eventual adoption—has warmed hearts across the internet after being chronicled in a moving social media video.

The viral video, which has been viewed more than 62,000 times since it was shared to TikTok on March 4, introduced viewers to Ivy the newly-adopted cat and detailed her devastating backstory.

Ivy’s rescuer, who eventually became her fosterer, had found the female cat struggling to survive in the vacant home back in January. They took her straight to ER before going on to nurse her at home.

“The home … was vacant since May 2023,” Ivy’s rescuer said.

“I rushed her to the ER right away. She was skin and bone. We had no idea how she survived for so long.”

“After she got out of the hospital I had to spoon feed her because she was so weak. She was sick for almost three weeks (and) barely came out of her bed … I brought her everything she needed to her little bed,” they added.

Viewers watched as a frail and weak Ivy was petted or fed fresh water in her new bed, until she gained enough energy and confidence to come out.

“She became the biggest cuddle bug,” Ivy’s rescuer continued.

“She soon doubled her weight. At night she would play like crazy … I spent every day for the last five weeks telling her she’s safe and she’s so brave, and today I told her goodbye.”

“Today is the first day of your forever, baby girl. It was such an honor to love you,” they added.

The rescuer continued under the post: “The night I was rushing her to the ER I tried to calm her down by singing her this song without the music to help her calm down.”

“She is the most amazing little survivor. I know you’re going to have the best life in your forever home.”

“Thank you for making letting you go so hard. It was truly an honor [to] love you. I’m going to miss you forever,” the rescuer concluded.

Ivy’s rescuer, who goes by @nala_meets_world on the platform, has a history of taking in abandoned cats and rehabilitating them until they find their forever home.

“You took in an abandoned orange cat in 2021 and now can’t stop finding abandoned orange cats,” they said in a different post.

Newsweek reached out to @nala_meets_world for more information via email.

What Do the Comments Say?

Since being shared to the social media platform by @nala_meets_world, the TikTok post has been liked by over 8,000 users and commented on more than 200 times.

“I could honestly never foster because I would foster fail with every single one,” one user wrote.

Another user added: “6.7lbs was double the weight you found her at? oh that poor baby! Thank you for saving this angel!”

“I wish I could hit the big lottery so that I could take care of more of them,” a third user shared.

A different user added: “My heart almost broke into pieces, I thought you meant the bad goodbye.”

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.