A lost cat suffering from heat exhaustion has been reunited with its owners thanks to a Good Samaritan.
Sharing the story to TikTok, user @jimistewart5 said he'd recently spotted a sickly-looking tabby attempting to cross a busy street in Texas. He realized that the animal was suffering from heat exhaustion, so he immediately took him home.
"Found this poor kitty about to die," said @jimistewart5 in the video captions.
He gave the dehydrated feline a bowl of water and a plate of food, and quickly noticed an improvement.
"He was so hungry," the TikToker wrote alongside footage of the tabby wolfing down his meal.
He and his partner decided to name the cat "Rezzy"—short for "Rescue"—feeding him treats and showering him with cuddles and affection.
"But we could tell he missed his family," the TikToker said. Unfortunately, Rezzy was not microchipped.
"We kept looking for his owners until we found them!" he added.
Rezzy belonged to an older couple nearby, who had owned him for 12 years. They told @jimistewart5 that he is both an indoor and outdoor cat and had wandered unusually far from home on this occasion, but were advised them to keep him indoors during the Texan summer anyway.
According to Pet MD, heat exhaustion occurs when an animal's temperature becomes dangerously high. Signs that a cat may be suffering from heat exhaustion include panting, sweaty paws, restlessness and increased grooming as they attempt to cool off.
Heat exhaustion can progress to heat stroke when an animal's body temperature rises to the point that it cannot cool itself down. Symptoms include a fast pulse, heavy breathing, vomiting, lethargy, a loss of balance and coordination and a red mouth and tongue. If untreated, heat stroke can lead to death.
If you suspect a cat has heat exhaustion, quickly move them to a cool location, rinse them with cold water and give them plenty of water to drink, before taking them to the vet.
Rezzy's story melted hearts on TikTok, where it received almost 5 million views and over 510,000 likes.
"This brought tears to my eyes!" commented Kelly Stafford-Cooper.
"I'm sobbing," said Angel Marie Miller.
"As a cat person, thank you so much for saving that poor baby," commented Eric B. Underwood.
"I think you guys are wonderful for what you did," said Dontforget1958.
"The best of humanity are folks that rescue animals!" said Stacy.
Newsweek reached out to @jimistewart5 for comment via TikTok.
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