Watch how love saved him! (Video)

Good Samaritans from Los Angeles saw a kitten trying to cross the street in a high traffic residential area. She was very frail. They safely stopped the traffic to secure the kitty. They reached out to their local rescue, TNR Now, for help. “The kitten was malnourished… barely the size of my already small palm. She was all bones underneath all that fuzz,” TNR Now wrote. Her eyes were crusted shut due to a severe upper respiratory infection. She was so hungry that she scarfed down all the food she was given to make up for the lost meals.

After getting her eyes and face cleaned and treated with medication, the kitten could finally rest that night. Meanwhile, Nikki Martinez, a rescuer based in Las Vegas, was contacted about the kitten needing an experienced foster. “I know that shelters and rescues around the country are overflowing with cats and kittens, and Los Angeles in particular has a huge need for foster homes. Every foster and rescue I knew of personally was full,” said Nikki. “I happened to be visiting Southern California at the time and asked a friend if she could transport to where I was staying. She did, and I was able to take her home with me to foster her.”

Her little body was exhausted!

She named her Sugarbug. The kitten was very small and weak, weighing only 0.6 pounds (272 grams). Nikki immediately started syringe-feeding her and treating her infection with antibiotics. “I fed her a mixture of kitten food made into ‘soup’ to keep her hydrated, and supplemented her with nutritional gel formulated for kittens.” During the first few days, the kitten just wanted to sleep. Her little body was exhausted from living on the street for so long without food. Nikki gave her plenty of clean and cozy blankets to keep her warm and comfortable. With around-the-clock feedings and frequent face washing and eye meds, Sugarbug began to gain more energy. Watch her full rescue journey in the video.