It is believed that when his Doctor’s Cove family moved out to Alberta they locked their doors and left the domesticated cat to fend for himself.

He put up a good fight but when two children found him and their parents contacted PET Projects he was in a heartbreaking state.

Simon was suffering horribly from frostbitten paws and ears so badly that the infection coursing through his body began peeling away his skin. He was starved down to his bones with fur missing all over his body and every sign pointed to his walking the thin line between life and death.

Volunteers brought him into the Jordon Branch Veterinary Clinic.

No one had seen frost bite this bad on a living animal.

“It is so sickingly wrong,” said PET Projects Volunteer, Shelley Hipson. “I can’t imagine being that cat…hands throbbing, feet throbbing as it walks and then take it to the next level where flesh is actually coming off.”

Simon was put on antibiotics and pain medication and a local woman has taken him into her home to help him heal until a permanent home is found.

When he was found he could not sit up, could barely lift his head, and weighed 5 pounds but now a short two weeks later with a lot of care, he is up to 9 pounds and is on the road to recovery.

Despite all of his hardships in the months of abandonment, he has a light step and is eager to show his love and affection to his foster mother.

This cat may have a happy ending to look forward to but Hipson said that is not the case for most but are usually found dead.

“I don’t think people get it,” she said. “People must think because they have fur coats that they can survive. In this throwaway society they are treating these animals like trash and dumping them.”

The reality, she said, is that they are domesticated with no real instincts for survival and would rather see the cat euthanized than go through that kind of suffering.

The PET Projects will also help a family find a home for their pet if they find themselves in a situation where they can no longer keep them.

“If you aren’t going to be able to properly care for your cat don’t get one in the first place,” she said. “They are a 15-year commitment that takes labour, obligation and love.”

A very small core group of volunteers have been working tirelessly rescuing over 600 cats and spaying or neutering them since the groups conception two years ago and all based on the donations from Shelburne County residents.

Unfortunately, the foster mother responsible for taking in Simon was unable to be identified. Hipson explained that various volunteers have had as many as 14 cats dumped at their homes in the last two months by pet owners.

Not only is abandoning a cat inhumane but it is also illegal with a penalty of up to $2000 and six months in jail.

Simon is a cat that has survived more than many want to even think about and has come through with a lovable personality craving affection and acceptance.

“I know the photos of him are hard to look at,” said Hipson. “When I first saw him I physically felt ill for a whole day but if an article and a photo can stop one person then I helped to save at least one animal and I’ve done my job.”