This is Hidey; her moniker came from her penchant for hiding. This cat was found with these peculiar matted dreadlocks that resemble a ctus and had been poorly neglected.

After being abandoned in a nursing home by her elderly owner who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, Hidey was brought to the Animal Rescue League Shelter and Wildlife Center.

The cat of this calicitty suffered significant matting from years of neglect. According to the shelter, the filthy dreadlocks, some of which were 8 inches long, were tangled with hair and included a mixture of feces.

The mat held all of the hair that Hidey had lost throughout the years. The mat’s end contains fur that has been long since shed. That is how they are able to reach that length.

It took hours to manually chop off each dread to get to the matted hair, which was then shaped off. Jenn Leitzi, an et technician at the facility, remarked that “all the mats were pretty much individual, so it was easy to get underneath them.”

Before the procedure, Hidey had to be put to sleep in order to make her as comfortable as possible. The medical staff removed the knots of tangled fur from the cat’s body, and it goes without saying that she is now feeling a lot better.

Imagine getting your hair all shaved off after years of mattification!

Hidey is becoming comfortable in her new home. Now that she is feeling better, there are certain ways she will warm up to her new owners, according to Caitlin Lassy of the Western A Humane Society.

Hidey is feeling so much better (and lighter!) since being free of her matted hair and dreadlocks. and she will now have the opportunity to live a happier and healthier life!

Dan Rssi, CEO of the Animal Rescue League Shelter and Western PA Humane Society, advised people who own pets to make sure there is a support structure in place in case their mental abilities start to wane.