Elmer the kitten: a heartwarming rescue story from glue to a loving home

Veterinarians had little time to question how the kitten who was rushed to their animal shelter had become covered in white glue. The adhesive had hardened around the cat’s eyes and mouth, restricting his ability to breathe, eat and drink. The kitten would probably have died without prompt treatment.

The medical team at the Humane Society of North Texas tried - and failed - to clean the cat with olive oil and dish soap. However, veterinarians were able to remove the glue while soaking the kitten in nearly two gallons of canola oil.

After hours of cleaning, the cat’s gray and white fur appeared. Shelter staff named the cat Elmer in honour of the glue brand.

The shelter shared Elmer’s story on social media in mid-April, prompting hundreds of people to express interest in adopting the cat, who, according to shelter staff, seemed to expect daily massages around his neck after his procedure. The Humane Society of North Texas even created an email address devoted to inquiries regarding Elmer, who’s about 2 months old.

The last bits of dried glue - on Elmer’s left leg - were removed in late April. On Wednesday, Elmer, who weighs about 2½ pounds, found his new home with a woman who had fostered him while he recovered.

Leah Owens, 72, said Elmer comforted her after her husband, Roger, died in October from multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.

“He filled that void,” Owens told The Washington Post, “and just gave me a lot of joy, a lot of happiness.”

The cat has come a long way since March 31, when someone found him in a bucket of glue and carried him into the Humane Society of North Texas in Fort Worth. It’s unclear if Elmer fell into the bucket or if someone placed him there.

Veterinarians fed fluids to the dehydrated kitten through a syringe. If they couldn’t quickly remove the glue, they might have had to euthanise the cat before it suffocated., they might have had to euthanize the cat before he suffocated, said Misty Mendes, director of shelter medicine at the Humane Society of North Texas.

“If that Good Samaritan had not come along,” Mendes said, “he probably would’ve died within minutes.”

When other liquids failed to remove the glue, a shelter employee ran to the store to buy canola oil, which veterinarians massaged on Elmer’s fur. Elmer’s face perked up as the glue was cleared away.

After hours of cleaning, veterinarians wrapped the kitten in gauze that helped the oil settle into his fur and placed a foam bowl over his neck to prevent him from licking the remaining bits of glue.

The next day, veterinarians soaked Elmer in more oil and gave him multiple baths until most of the glue was gone. He gently headbutted shelter employees’ legs in the following days, seeming to ask for more massages.

“He honestly feels like every day is spa day,” said Cassie Davidson, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of North Texas.

The shelter searched for volunteers to foster Elmer who could continue to bathe him daily.

Owens, who had become the shelter’s go-to foster volunteer for injured cats over the past year, saw a picture of Elmer covered in glue in a local newspaper. Feeling sorry for the cat, she asked to foster him.

She already had three cats - Rickey, 14; Tarzana, 2; and Poppy, 11 months - so she wasn’t sure she wanted another one long-term.

But Owens developed a bond with Elmer.

In Owens’s home in Azle, Texas, Elmer walked around the sunroom like he owned the place. He curled his body against Owens’s legs and welcomed pets.

Near the end of April, Owens returned Elmer to the shelter so the last of the glue could be removed and he could be neutered. The shelter wrote on Facebook that potential adopters should explain in an email why they wanted Elmer.

Owens wrote her email on her phone from the shelter’s parking lot after dropping off Elmer.

“When he’s ready for adoption, I’d like to be considered,” Owens wrote. “... I was my husband’s caregiver for almost 9 years and Elmer definitely occupied my time! I fell in love with the little guy, he’s very special!”

When the shelter told Owens on Wednesday that Elmer would be her cat, Owens cried. She smiled when she took him into her arms at the shelter and kissed the back of his head.

“Do you remember me, you little stinkpot?” Owens said, using her nickname for Elmer. “I love this little guy.”

When Elmer arrived home that evening, he played with his new toys for an hour. Owens expects Elmer to soon join playful wrestling matches with Poppy and cuddle with her in bed until they fall asleep.

“He’s going to be a spoiled little cat,” she said.