Nicole Paling thought her night was already bad enough.
One of her rescue cats, Bacci, was struggling to breathe, so she rushed him to the Mountainside Animal Clinic in Burlington, Canada, to get him oxygen.
The clinic had been closed for hours, but she had after-hours access.
It was supposed to be a quick in-and-out trip.
But before she even made it inside, something on the curb made her stop in her tracks.
A black pet carrier sat there, abandoned. Weird, right?
But as she got closer, her heart started racing. This wasn’t just some lost pet situation.
The carrier had duct tape all over it.
And inside? A three-year-old tabby cat whose entire face had been tightly wrapped in the stuff.
“I ran over to the carrier, and I see all this duct tape,” Paling said. “I went into an instant panic attack.”
Source: Facebook
The poor thing couldn’t see, couldn’t eat, and was barely able to breathe. Whoever did this had made sure of that.
The tape was wound around her face three times, squeezing so tightly that her ears were flattened against her head.
She must have been terrified. Paling didn’t waste time.
She immediately called her boyfriend, Brett Norton, who was just a couple of blocks away.
He had a pocket knife and steady hands, exactly what was needed.
Source: Facebook
Norton arrived quickly and got to work.
The tape was everywhere, stuck to fur, whiskers, and even the delicate skin around her ears.
One wrong move, and he could cut her.
But Lucky didn’t fight back. She just sat there, trusting them completely.
“The tape was holding her mouth shut, so all she had was her nose to breathe through,” Norton said.
“I was expecting her to claw, to bite, but she didn’t. She just let us help.”
Source: Facebook
When the last piece of tape finally came off, Lucky didn’t run.
She didn’t hiss. She just looked up at them with tired, grateful eyes.
Inside the clinic, she drank water like she’d never seen it before. Who knows how long she’d been without it?
And then came the real kicker. Paling got hold of security footage from outside the clinic.
The video showed a car pulling up at 7:25 p.m.
Someone stepped out, dumped the carrier on the curb, and drove off like they were just taking out the trash. They didn’t even hesitate.
The police are now investigating, but whoever did this is still out there. They left Lucky for dead, but she wasn’t having it.
Despite everything, Lucky isn’t just surviving, she’s thriving.
Aside from a few chipped teeth and a bladder infection, she’s doing great. More than that, she’s loving.
“She’s one of the most affectionate cats I’ve ever worked with,” Paling said.
And here’s the best part, her story has gone viral. Over 100 people have already offered to adopt her.
From being left to die to having a queue of people wanting to give her a home, Lucky is living up to her name.
The whole ordeal raises a lot of questions. Who did this? And why? What kind of person goes out of their way to hurt an innocent animal like this?
Some people just shouldn’t have pets, and this proves it.
Source: Facebook
The good news? Lucky will never have to deal with anything like this again.
Instead, she’s got a future full of belly rubs, treats, and people who actually care about her.
“Some person has lost a wonderful animal, and someone else will get to have it,” Norton said. “They weren’t able to break her spirit.”
So yeah, whoever dumped her failed spectacularly. Lucky survived. And soon, she’ll have the life she’s always deserved.
And as for the person who did this? If karma has anything to say about it, they won’t be so lucky.➕
