It was supposed to be just a normal day for visiting a relative’s home for Paul Russell, but little did he know that the day would turn out to be one of the most unforgettable experiences in his life.
That day wasn’t just something out of the ordinary — it was almost alien. What we witnessed when he arrived and looked into the bedroom was a scene straight out of the movies. As he shone his flashlight across the darkness, he came face to face with a creature with glowing eyes darting out from underneath the bed. It scampered frantically out of the room and into the cellar — with a low, menacing growl.
Settling In
It hasn’t been long since his distant relative, an 82-year-old man, moved into this house from Pittsburgh. Back then, the elderly man had been living alone until he came down with a mystery illness that required him to be in the company of someone who would look after him.
That’s when Paul’s family decided to move him to a nursing care facility located near their home. At the time, it seemed to be the most sound and practical decision. But later, this very move led to a series of strange events that nobody ever thought would happen.
Leaving
Paul’s relative had a 17-year-old cat named Siam and since the nursing home prohibited its residents from bringing their pets in, the family thought it best that they care of it feline themselves.
Now Paul and his wife are animal lovers and were even parents of a few cats in their own home, so adding one more wouldn’t be a problem. Later, they find out that Siam was not the only inhabitant of the elderly man’s old house.
What the Darkness Revealed
It was nighttime when the couple arrived at the man’s home to collect Siam and bring him home. When Paul entered the house, he found it pitch black. The electricity was out so he’d have to find his way to the cellar and see if he can do something about the breaker.
He returned to his car to get his emergency flashlight. However, the moment the beam hit the hallway, something glowed back — and then moved.
Run Down
First it was the stench of the house that hit him the moment he opened the front door. A little woozy, he took careful steps into the hall and looked around. The whole house looked like a large trash bin. The living room was filled from floor to ceiling with boxes, old and decaying newspapers, broken furniture, while the kitchen and random parts of the house had dirty dishes, glasses, and half-opened cartons of milk and food that were in different states of decomposition.
The windows were blacked out all over. If that wasn’t weird enough, he also discovered strange markings on the walls.
Feeling of Dread
There was something about the house that didn’t sit well with Paul. He could take the garbage and the nasty smell, but there was something else bothering him that he simply couldn’t shake off. He felt like something or someone was watching him.
But he continued bravely to look around the house and shine his flashlight around. He wondered what could have caused all of this mess and the markings. Surely it wasn’t Siam the cat. Was it?
Marks on the Wall
He ran his fingers over the marks he found all over the walls and realized it was deep scratches that were repeatedly made on different areas. Was there something that his relative did not reveal about his house. He tried to get the creepy images out of his head and reminded himself why he was there — to look for Siam and take him home.
But the cat was nowhere to be seen. He dreaded having to go look around further but was also determined to get his mission over and done with. All Paul wanted at the moment was to find the cat and get out of there as quickly as possible.
Hidden
A sigh of relief came over him when he stepped into the kitchen and found Siam’s treat bowl. He had brought some cat food with him so he filled it with treats in an attempt to get the cat to come out and reveal itself. But there was no cat in sight. He called the kitty out several times but he was met with total silence.
If Siam had been hiding, then finding him in this darkness would be futile. Apart from the mountains of garbage, there was just too many nooks and crannies where he could hide. So he gave up on the idea for the meantime and refocused his attention on getting the light back on. As he made his way to the cellar, however, something made him freeze in his spot.
Chills
Now, remember that it was pitch black and creepy-silent at the house, so when Paul suddenly heard a screeching sound, he found himself frozen to where he was standing. He closed his eyes to listen more closely and then he heard a heavy thump in the next room.
Shaking, the forced his legs to move toward the sound and carefully pushed the door to the bathroom open. It was clear. Whatever it was had to be behind the shower curtain. He yanked it open.
Hiding
To his relief, there was Siam — camped out in the bathroom tub. The little guy was scared and ravenously hungry. Who knows when he last had a decent meal.
Paul began thinking about what he was going to do with Siam, then he heard another sound coming from the darkness that made his blood run cold.
Not Alone
Paul heard a low scratchy growl, echoing from the room across the hall. But if the cat was in here with him, then what was out there making that sound? At first, he reassured himself that it was probably just a scared raccoon that made its way into the abandoned house — that would explain why Siam was hunkered down in the tub, right?
He crept over to the doorway and was met with a sight he’ll never forget.
A Huge Creature
While most of us would probably just take Siam and run, Paul’s curiously got the best of him. “I started searching around, and suddenly this huge creature darts out from under the bed and runs down to the cellar, and I thought, ‘What was that?’”
Terrified, Paul dashed straight out of the house. He’d need to muster every ounce of courage he had before going back down into that cellar.
Going Back In
Now with his wife, Jill, by his side, they entered the house again. This time, Paul was prepared. Armed with a trap and flashlights, they crept down the stairs. Then, they spotted it.
“The next day, I went into the creepy old cellar… I’m down there with a flashlight looking — it was almost like a horror movie. And I found her hunkering in the corner…” Paul recalls.
Trapped
They managed to corner the creature and push it into the trap. Jill stood back, incredulous. She hadn’t believed her husband when he had said that the creature looked dusty and appeared to have huge glowing eyes, but now she had seen it for herself. Just what had they found?
They rushed the alien-looking creature to the vet, hoping for some answers.
At The Vet
At the vet, Paul and Jill were shaken. What could this animal be? Paul speculated that perhaps it was a wild animal he’d never heard of — or a common animal that looked like nothing he had ever seen.
The vets had never seen anything like this before, either. But they did know what it was.
A Cat
What they were looking at was a cat! But what had caused it to transform beyond recognition?
After a series of discussions about what the next move should be, the vets eventually came to a decision that the only sensible thing they could do was give the creature anesthesia.
Hidey
The cat, aptly named Hidey due to its affinity for hiding, was also trapped under pounds and pounds of its own matted fur. Sadly, its 82-year-old owner had completely forgotten about Hidey for a very, very long time.
“Hidey was really overweight, so that makes it harder for [cats] to groom themselves, and that’s when you see matting happen,” Western PA Humane Society Senior Marketing Communications Manager Caitlin Lasky said. But how could they safely remove the cat’s “dreadlocks?”
Barbershop
The vet team was stunned at Hidey’s appearance. “They hadn’t seen anything like that,” Caitlin Lasky, senior marketing communications manager for Western PA Humane Society, said. “Even looking online, I had a hard time finding anything similar, so it’s definitely a unique case.”
There really is the only way to rescue a cat in this condition: you have to shave it all off. But the team couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. After putting Hidey under general anesthesia, they carefully began cutting away at the mass.
Makeover
“Our Medical team shaved off the pounds of intertwined fur from her body and, needless to say, this cat is feeling so much better now!” read the shelter’s Facebook post. The fur had accumulated up to two pounds in weight!
“Lots of fur. It had to be years of matting for it to get that long.” In fact, Hidey turned out to be not just the hairiest cat in history but also one of the fattest. And now Hidey had an even bigger problem: she had no place to call home.
New Family
Thankfully, after Hidey was discharged from the vet hospital, Paul and his wife decided to take both Hidey and Siam in. Both felines now have a forever home with the Russells, and instant siblings in the couple’s three other cats and two dogs.
It will take more time to see who Hidey really is, but she’s slowly adjusting to life without pounds of overgrown fur. She may not realize it yet, but she finally has a chance at a happy and healthy life! But could Hidey ever trust humans again?
Monster Under The Bed
After years of neglect, it’s clearly going to take some time for her to settle in. “She’s been hiding under the bed for the last couple of days,” Russell said.
“I’ve been dragging her out, and holding her, and she purrs a lot. The last couple of days, she’s climbed out from under the bed on her own and into a cat bed I have. So she’s starting to work her way to see people more.”
Responsibility
“The companionship of a pet can bring many positive benefits to the elderly, however, owning a pet is a large responsibility,” said Dan Rossi, CEO of the Animal Rescue League Shelter and the Western PA Humane Society.
And he also has a warning, as well as some simple advice on what to do in this situation.
Looking Out For Each Other
“If a family member, friend or neighbor owns a pet, please help them to make sure there is a support system in place if/when mental faculties begin diminishing,” Dan pleads.
“Also, open door shelters such as Animal Rescue League Shelter and the Western PA Humane Society do not turn any animal away if there are no other options for the pet.”
Adjusting
It will take more time to see who Hidey really is, but she’s slowly adjusting to life without pounds of overgrown fur and starting to come out of her shell. “Other than being standoffish, you hold her and she starts purring,” Russell adds.
However, Jill thinks there’s much more in store for Hidey in 2018…
A Happy Ending
“In six months she’ll be running the house,” Jill says. “And hopefully she’ll be a little trimmer.” Thank goodness someone had finally realized that Hidey was suffering under all those pounds of fur and had taken her in for professional care.
Hopefully, this story will help prevent other incidents of accidental pet neglect among the elderly.