Elmer the kitten is now thriving after he was found in a bucket of glue

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LISTEN | Full interview with Human Society veterinarian Misty Mendes: As It Happens 6:29 How veterinarians and shelter staff saved a kitten found in a bucket of glue

When staff at the Humane Society of North Texas first saw Elmer, a scared little kitten saturated in industrial-strength glue, they didn't know if he would survive the night.

A passerby had found the four-month-old kitten in a bucket of glue near an industrial area and brought him to the shelter in Fort Worth, Texas, in mid-April.

"It was covering his head, his ears, his mouth, his nose. It was completely all over his body," Misty Mendes, the rescue group’s director of shelter medicine, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

It was a fight against time as staff scrambled to remove the glue before it hardened around his tiny chest or inside his mouth and nose, blocking his ability to breathe.

But after round-the-clock care, the little creature was free. Elmer, named after the glue brand, is now thriving in his new home.

When Elmer first arrived at the shelter, Mendes says nobody was sure how to de-glue him.

"It was a first for everybody," she said. "We were trying to use anything that we had."

Dish soap, mineral oil and bandage removal spray all failed to meet the moment. Then they tried canola oil, and it did the trick.

That first night, Mendes says staff spent six hours intermittently massaging Elmer with the oil, washing him off in warm baths, and syringe feeding him.

Staff at the Humane Society of North Texas bathe Elmer the kitten as they work to remove the glue from his fur and skin. (Humane Society of North Texas)

"He was shaking," Mendes said. "I think he was probably very close to death because he didn't fight. He didn't meow, he didn't hiss or growl. He was just very, very lethargic, but very tolerant."

A staff member took Elmer home at the end of her shift to continue the treatment overnight. The next morning, staff worked on him again for eight hours straight.

"He let us do what we needed to do," Mendes said. "I think he got used to having a spa day and having people massage him constantly and so anytime, even after we got the glue off, he wanted that attention."

Leah Owens, 72, read about Elmer in the newspaper, and volunteered to foster him until he was ready to be adopted. But it didn't take her long to realize she wanted to keep him for good.

"We just fell in love with each other. I could tell he loved me, and I knew I loved him," she said.

Owens, who lost her husband to multiple myeloma in October, says Elmer brought a much needed spark of joy to her life.

"I felt a void and just an emptiness in the house, you know?" she said. "I thought, yeah, he might kind of perk things up around here. And boy, has he ever."

Leah Owens, 72, who adopted Elmer, says he's brought a spark of joy to her home after her husband died in October. (Humane Society of North Texas)

When she brought Elmer back to the Humane Society to get neutered, she learned they'd set up a special email to field his hundreds of adoption applications. If she wanted to keep him, she'd have to write in.

"I was kind of hesitant. I'm 72 years old and I thought I've got three cats in the house and, you know, he's a little kitten," she said.

"And I got in the parking lot, and I sat there for a minute, and I said, 'Nope, I'm going to.' And I wrote the email out there in the parking lot."

She admits she's been a bit overwhelmed with all the media attention Elmer has brought into her life. But she's using the unexpected spotlight to encourage more people to foster animals.

"It helps these shelters and the rescues. They're just in desperate need for fosters so they can bring in more animals, and it's just very, very rewarding," she said. "And adopt, don't shop. There's so many good animals out there."

Elmer is doing well in his new home, says Owens, and seems unfazed by what he went through. (Submitted by Leah Owens)

Elmer, meanwhile, is settling in well. Despite everything he's been through, Owens says he seems unfazed. He's fearless, playful, affectionate and, like all kittens, a little mischievous.

"He'll crawl up in my lap and then he'll get up on my chest, put his little paws on my face, such a sweet little kitty, and I'll rub my chin on his head — and then he bites my chin," she said with a chuckle. "Little stinker."