Man Rescues Creature From Old House, Has No Idea What It Is

Alien

When Paul Russell decided to check on an elderly relative’s home, he had no clue he’d step right into a scene from the movies. Paul stated that what he had seen was straight out of the movie Alien.

With his heart hammering behind his ribcage, he shone the flashlight into the dimly lit room, illuminating the gigantic creature crouched in the corner. But before he could figure out what it was, it darted down the basement stairs with a heavy growl.

Making A Decision

At 82 years old, Paul Russell’s distant relative had just moved out of his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania home. The man had been living on his own until a mysterious illness made it impossible for him to take care of himself.

His family moved him to a nursing home closer to their place to better keep an eye on him. While this was clearly the best thing for the man, little did his family know moving him out would set off a chain of events too weird to imagine.

Left Behind

Controversially, the nursing home did not permit any animals on the premises. Sadly that meant Siam, the man’s beloved 17-year-old Siamese cat, had to be left behind. This is where Paul jumped at the opportunity to help.

Paul and his wife, self-described animal lovers, already had a few cats. So what’s one more? Well, as Paul was soon to find out, Siam wasn’t the only “animal” in that house.

Walked Into It

Due to the man living on the fringes of Pittsburgh, he had been living alone in a gradually deteriorating state for quite some time. His poor cat’s health went from bad to worse without proper assistance.

So when Paul decided to check in on Siam, he had expected to find a bit of chaos – as anyone would. But never in a million years would he have ever expected to walk straight into a horror movie.

Entering The House

Paul walked up the drive, opened the front door, and flicked the light switch on and off. Nothing. He’d have to go down into the cellar and find the breaker… but first things first.  

He went back to his car and fetched his emergency flashlight. But when he shone the beam into the hallway, he almost dropped it. 

Derelict

The smell hit him first, then the sight in the hallway left Paul reeling. The entire house was stacked from floor to ceiling with trash. Broken furniture, boxes, and newspapers lay in heaps, and dishes piled up high on every surface. 

The windows were blacked out, and stranger still, there were weird markings all over the walls. 

A Creeping Feeling

As Paul moved slowly through the house, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. He tried to stop thinking about rats, snakes, and worse. 

The hair prickled on the back of his neck as he shone the flashlight’s beam over the etchings on the walls. Who, or what, had done this? And where was Siam?

Scratches

Paul inspected the marks on the walls and realized that they were scratches that had been gouged into the wallpaper. What had happened here? 

He walked down the hallway with his heart in his throat. “Kitty, kitty,” he called softly. A strange feeling came over him, and suddenly, all his nerves were screaming at him to run. He had to find Siam as quickly as possible so he could get out of there. 

Kitchen

Paul walked into the kitchen and located Siam’s food bowl. He filled it with the cat food he had brought with him, but strangely, Siam didn’t come running. After calling his name for several minutes, his heart sank. 

If Siam was hiding, he’d never find him in the dark — there were too many hiding places. He knew he’d have to go down to the cellar and flip the breaker switch. But before he had even reached the darkened stairway, he heard a sound that chilled him to the core. 

Frozen

A screech echoed through the house, and Paul froze. Then, he heard a thump, but this time the noise came from another room — the bathroom at the end of the hallway. 

Willing his legs to move, he slowly approached the door, shaking. He pushed the door open with his foot and yanked back the shower curtain.

Hiding Out

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, and 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, 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 curiosity 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 multiple legs, 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 it had a blanket over it. 

The vets had never seen anything like this before, either. Then, they turned the bizarre creature around. What they uncovered had everyone at a loss for words.

A Cat

As they turned the animal over, they saw the head of a cat – protruding from the many strange “tentacles” that covered its body. Then, it hit them. 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 decided 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 trapped under pounds and pounds of its own matted fur. Sadly, its 82-year-old owner had completely forgotten about Hidey for a 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 only one 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. In 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 One Another

“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.

Hopeful

“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.

Hideys’ New Home

Although Hidey seemed to enjoy the freedom of his new haircut, he still wasn’t being too friendly towards his other animal brothers and sisters. Paul caught him hissing at the other cats a few times. He was worried that he wouldn’t adjust.

Jill, on the other hand, was hopeful that he would soon feel at home. They were family, after all. Hidey seemed to know that Paula and Jill wanted to help him. He would sometimes let them stroke him or scratch his head. Was this real affection or just attention-seeking?

A Troublesome Cat

The animal lovers were doing all they could to try and get Hidey to feel comfortable. They bought him special cat toys to get his attention. He was amused for a while but eventually got bored and walked away.

The worried couple had a new idea. Jill had seen a newspaper advertisement for an animal behavioral specialist. Perhaps this was the answer.

Seeking Professional Help 

Jill called the animal behavioral specialist to query her moody cat. The specialist told her that she was happy to help and gave her a breakdown of the fees for cat therapy. Jill was eager to begin the classes for Hidey, but she was worried about how they would pay for them.

Paul agreed that it was a great idea but heard Jill’s concerns about payment as well. They already had an extra expense with the nursing home. How could they afford to treat this poor cat too?

 

A Modern Solution

That night when they were watching TV, they saw a commercial about Pet Insurance. Jill shouted in delight and said that this was the answer. Paul was excited and sent a query through. Could this be the help they needed?

Paul said that the premiums were quite affordable and that they would be able to get coverage immediately. Jill happily looked for Hidey to tell him the good news.

A Happy Family

The next morning, an insurance consultant called Paul to confirm the transaction. Paul agreed and was excited to start his cat’s therapy. They confirmed that the behavioral specialist would come the next day to start Hideys emotional therapy.

Hidey showed great improvement in his character and became more friendly with the other cats. His new adoptive parents were overjoyed that all their fur babies were getting along. They realized that Hidey made their home complete.

 

Disclaimer: To protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.