A tiny kitten is getting a second chance at life after rescuers found him nearly covered head-to-tail in industrial-strength glue.
The heartbreaking rescue happened in Texas after a Good Samaritan discovered the four-month-old kitten in horrifying condition and rushed him to the Humane Society of North Texas in mid-April.
According to shelter staff, the glue was everywhere.
“It was covering his head, his ears, his mouth, his nose. It was completely all over his body,” Misty Mendes, the shelter’s director of medicine, told CBC News.
Rescuers feared the kitten might not survive.
Not only was the glue toxic, but staff members also worried he may have swallowed some while trying to clean himself.
Even worse, the glue around his mouth and nose was making it difficult for him to breathe.
“It absolutely can be deadly,” Mendes explained.
The shelter team immediately launched what they described as a desperate race against time to save the tiny cat.
At first, they tried using dish soap to break down the glue, but it barely worked.
Eventually, staff members turned to canola oil — and it slowly began loosening the hardened substance from the kitten’s fur and skin.
For days, workers took turns carefully massaging the kitten with oil, bathing him in warm water, and syringe-feeding him while he remained weak and exhausted.
“It took six hours intermittently massaging Elmer with the oil,” Mendes said.
The tiny kitten was reportedly so weak that he barely reacted during the painful process.
“He was shaking,” Mendes recalled.
“I think he was probably very close to death because he didn’t fight. He didn’t meow, he didn’t hiss or growl.”
Once the kitten was finally cleaned up, shelter workers decided to name him Elmer — a nod to the famous glue brand.
Thankfully, the little survivor made an incredible recovery.
Now, staff members say Elmer is playful, affectionate, and full of energy.
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Even the official Elmer’s Glue TikTok account commented on the viral rescue video, writing: “So happy to see brave, little Elmer thriving in his new home.”
That home now belongs to 72-year-old Leah Owens, who originally agreed to foster the kitten before completely falling in love with him.
“We just fell in love with each other,” Owens told CBC News.
“I could tell he loved me, and I knew I loved him.”
Owens says Elmer now spends his days cuddling in her lap and gently putting his tiny paws on her face.
After everything he survived, the once-glued kitten is finally living the happy life he deserves.