“He wanted to watch …”
Earlier this year, in the United Arab Emirates, an orange cat was a found wandering outside of a mall all by himself. A local cat rescuer, thankfully, was able to earn his trust and whisk him to safety.
The cat’s rescuer named him Merlino, and promised to find him a loving forever home. But these wouldn’t be the only acts of kindness the stray received.
To ensure that Merlino returned to full health, he began making visits to Modern Vet, an animal clinic in the city of Dubai. There, he quickly endeared himself to everyone on staff.
“He’s a lovely kitty,” a spokesperson for the clinic told The Dodo. “While he was staying here, he was friendly and always wanted affection or to play.”
To keep Merlino entertained while they worked, staff at the clinic gifted him what soon became his favorite toy. One day, however, after some vigorous playing, the unthinkable happened — Merlino’s toy got ripped.
Fortunately, staff knew just what to do. According to the clinic spokesperson, they performed “emergency surgery” on the plushie:
“Our nurse, Kate, stitched it up, and we put a little scrub cat on [Merlino]. He wanted to watch, too.”
@modernvetdubaiAn emergency surgery with our best vet assistant 🥹❤️#vet#dubaivet#cat#catsoftiktok#catlife#vetsoftiktok♬ Little Things – Adrián Berenguer
Merlino and his stitched-up toy were soon back to their old routine. But Merlino’s life didn’t stay routine for long.
Shortly after the toy incident, Merlino’s rescuer found him a forever home with a family in Italy.
Though Merlino now lives many miles away from the clinic, enjoying life in his forever home, he’s not far from the minds of those who grew to love him (and lent his toy a helping hand).
“It’s so heartwarming to see him with his new family,” the clinic spokesperson said. “He looks delighted with himself.”