When his rescuers first set eyes on Cotton the stray cat, what they saw made their hearts bleed. The poor creature was suffering from an extreme case of mange. Indeed, the disease had left him covered in nasty sores and had even stolen his eyesight. As a result, Cotton left everyone wondering how he’d had survived until now.

In September 2016 a man named Joe was at his home in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. And he noticed something unusual. There, outside his property, was a little cat. The animal had suddenly appeared and was eating from a food bowl Joe had left for his own pet.

From what Joe could see, the cat was extremely hungry. So, he went outside to see if there was anything he could do to help the creature. And that’s when he realized just how bad a state the cat was in.