Bored Panda reached out to Viktoria Smolyanova, a member of Cats Grow, who recently shared some heartwarming photos of her cat, Tigrik (which translates to ‘little tiger’ in English). Knowing that the kitten had a rough start in life, we asked Viktoria to share his story with us. Here’s what we found out: “Early one morning, someone in our building’s chat shared a message about kittens abandoned in a box among the garbage. When I arrived, I found two tiny kittens, barely alive, lying on dirty rags. I took them home, fed them, and examined them—their eyes were sealed shut with pus and infection. That same day, I brought them to the vet, where we learned their genders and received a treatment plan."

“As we cared for them, my husband and I realized we couldn’t part with Tigrik. After their eye infections healed, we decided to keep him, while his brother went to live with my sister. Both kittens were very sick, but Tigrik was in critical condition. He had panleukopenia, a disease that kills 90% of kittens under a year old. His symptoms were severe, and I feared they wouldn’t survive. On top of that, they had lice, worms, fleas, and ringworm. More recently, they were diagnosed with coronavirus enteritis. Despite everything, the kittens fought through each illness and are now happy, healthy, and full of energy. They eat high-quality food and are playful and active.”

Looking at Tigrik’s transformation, we can’t help but get emotional. Rescuing pets in need is a noble act, and seeing this once-fragile kitten thrive in his forever home is truly a happy ending. We asked Viktoria what emotions or memories the ‘before and after’ photos bring back for her, and she responded: “When the kittens were sick, we cried a lot, fearing they wouldn’t survive. Now, we try not to dwell on those moments, but whenever I tell their story, I still get emotional.”

Now, we wanted to learn more about the fully grown, beautiful cat Tigrik. We were curious about his habits and funny behaviors, and his owner kindly shared with us: “He wakes up with us in the morning, runs to eat, and then watches us as we get ready for work before going back to sleep. In the evening, when my husband comes home, we play with him until late at night. He loves jingling toys and climbing vertically on walls and sofas. Of course, he scratched up a lot of things at first, but over time, we managed to fix everything.” She also added: “On weekends, we sleep in with Tigrik until lunchtime.”

Lastly, Smolyanova shared some advice for other cat owners who want to document their pet’s growth: “Take plenty of memorable photos! It would be great to print them in an album, though I know I probably won’t get around to doing it myself.”