Woman finds cat with duct-tape wrapped around it's head and knows she's running out of time

Some twisted person duct taped the head of a 3-year-old cat and then abandoned her outside a vet clinic in Burlington. Luckily for the feline, a woman found her one hour later and, with the help of her boyfriend, was able to free the friendly kitten.

Is saddening that cases like this one keep on happening; is unfathomable how some people can hurt animals without a care in the world, and what’s worst, not all pets have the same luck as this adorable kitten.

A LUCKY RESCUE

Nicole Paling, founder of Every Life Matters Cat Rescue, drove to the Mountainside Animal Clinic in Burlington when one of the cats she looks after went into respiratory distress. Even though the clinic closes at 6 p.m, Paling has access as a voluntary and was going to administrate oxygen to the cat.

However, once she parked in the building around 8 p.m, she noticed a kennel in the curb of the building. Thinking that someone might have forgotten it, she got close, and that’s when she found a poor kitten with a lot of duct tape covering her entire head, only with a small opening on her nose.

Paling went immediately into a panic attack and called her boyfriend, Brett Norton, to the clinic. Once the man arrived, they set up the difficult task of freeing the kitty from its duct tape prison.

A TAME AND FRIENDLY CAT

Paling started to record as Norton cut, little by little, the duct tape with a pocket knife. She was clearly in distress and shock at seeing how someone could torture the animal like that. The tape was wrapped three times around the tabby’s head, and her ears were folded over the top of her head.

“The tape was holding her mouth shut, so all she had was her nose to breathe through," Norton told TODAY.

"I was trimming a little bit of the tape (with a pocket knife). I tried to cut it and rip, but it stuck to all the hair. I was trying not to cut the ears; I was trying not to hurt the animal in any way."

The cat, later named Lucky, was cooperative and calm through the process as if she knew she was finally safe.

“When I got the one side clear, I had to reach in front of her mouth to pull the tape down, and I was fully expecting to get bit at that time," Norton said. "But she didn’t have any aggression whatsoever. She didn’t try to claw or try to do anything like that."

Once the whole duct tape was removed, Norton and Paling searched for any other injuries, but aside from being dehydrated and with particles of the tape on her fur, the kitten was okay.

LOOKING FOR THE SUSPECT

The next morning, Nicole and the staff of the vet clinic checked the video surveillance footage to see if they could identify the terrible human who did this to the cat. They were able to pinpoint a car that drove by and abandoned Lucky at 7:25 p.m.

Police are allegedly investigating the case, and they are asking people around the area to come forward if they have any clue on who the perpetrator was so they can get the proper punishment they deserve.

After Nicole shared Lucky’s story on Facebook, more than 100 families have come forward offering the kitty a permanent home.

However, Lucky is still under Nicole’s care as they have to spay her first.

“Some person has lost a wonderful animal, and someone else will get to have it — that's the positive takeaway from this," Norton said. "They weren't able to break her spirit."

ANOTHER CAT STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING

Samuel, the cat, had spent most of his life trapped in a small carrier, and by the time he was rescued, he had a long list of expensive medical issues that put him directly on the euthanizing list of the municipal shelter that had taken him in.

But one of the volunteers at the place posted a pic of the cat in hopes of finding someone to help him save the cat’s life. It was Leslie Raines, a vet tech in the Houston area, who came forward.

She offered to foster the cat and received the support of the Save A Purrfect Cat Rescue (SAPCR). Once Samuel arrived at the vet clinic, the medical treatment started. He was in terrible shape, all skin and bones, and his skin was covered in mange. He was also wary of humans since he never got to interact with anyone before.

But despite all of the cat’s issues, Raines was optimistic. “I promise you there is a beautiful cat underneath all this, and we’re going to find him,” she said to a friend that helped with Samuel’s recovery.

A year later, Samuel had put on weight, and his fur was starting to grow beautifully. But he was still uncomfortable in the new environment, getting scared by his shadow and everything else around him.

When the time came for Samuel to meet prospective adoptive parents, he became closed off once again. Until Bryan Smith came into the picture.

He had lost a cat that resembled Samuel a year before, and when he approached the shy feline, the connection was instant. Raines was still not sure if Sam would be ok, until the cat reassured her that it was time for him to move on.

“At one point [Sam] came over and mewed at me, and then he walked over to Bryan. It was as if he was telling me, ‘This is it,’” Raines recalled to The Dodo.