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It was a freezing cold January night when a cat that we had seen hanging around our yard showed up on our back porch. We had been putting food and water out for him. When I looked out and saw him, there was blood everywhere! He looked terrified and I was worried that he had been hit by a car. When I opened the door to see if I could help him, he ran and I could see he was limping badly.

PHOTO: LISA FROM COLUMBUS, OH

The forecast was for temperatures to drop well below freezing that night, and I was frantic to help him because I thought he might not survive the night. My husband and I went out to see if we could catch him, but he was so afraid and we were not successful. I came inside and called a friend of mine who was very experienced at cat and dog rescues. She told me to come right away and get her trap and she coached me through how to catch him.

The next morning, after loading the trap with a big can of tuna, we caught him and took him to the 24-hour emergency vet hospital. After many hours of waiting, we learned that he did not have any broken bones and that the limping and bleeding was from fight wounds that had become abscessed and infected. The vet excised and cleaned all the wounds, gave him a long-acting antibiotic, gave him all his vaccines and neutered him and gave him some pain meds. We picked him up the next morning and after paying the $187 vet bill, we brought him home.

We kept him in a kennel in the garage for several days so that he could eat and stay warm and so his wounds could heal. We were told that when we let him go, he might never come back again due to the trauma and the stress of being trapped. Luckily, he decided to hang around and now has found his forever home in our back yard. He even lets us pet him now!

PHIOTO: LISA FROM COLUMBUS, OH

Story submitted by Lisa from Columbus, Ohio.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!