Animal rescue volunteers searched for the cat for a month, she said, until Hercules was finally spotted sitting outside someone’s door. in the zone. His jaw was fractured, he was covered in maggots and his tongue was badly damaged, Perreault said.
The person who found Hercules outside took the cat to the veterinary clinic.
Perreault said she suspected it was Hercules and contacted its previous owner, who confirmed it.
“This gentleman said he had fallen on hard times and had been evicted, so he was staying in his car with all his cats,” she said. “He was very polite and it seemed like he really liked them. He was happy to know that Hercules had been found and that he was receiving a lot of love.
She didn’t know what happened to the man who was kicked out. She assured him that Hercules would be taken care of, she said.
“We suspected he might have been hit by a car,” Perreault said of Hercules. “He was so close to death that I wondered if it would be more humane to euthanize him.”
But Hercule then raised his head and looked at Perreault.
“I felt like he really wanted to fight,” she said.
Perreault and his team fed Hercules and cleaned him, then gave him intravenous fluids and gave him painkillers. When the 6-year-old feline was strong enough, Perreault took him to an animal oral surgeon to have his jaw repaired.
Perreault said she posted a few photos of Hercules on her Facebook page to let people know the cat had been found and was gradually healing.
“He tore my heart out when I saw him,” she wrote. “…I decided that we owe it to him to give him every chance to recover from this horrible ordeal, so that he can hopefully experience the love and care that awaits him.”
Jill LeBrun, a pediatric nurse from St. Paul who has fostered dogs and cats for Perreault’s rescue over the years, was immediately interested.
“As a nurse, I am drawn to medically fragile animals,” LeBrun, 50, said. “I knew Hercules was going to need foster care and I felt like I could do it.”
Once Perreault and his team determined Hercules was strong enough to leave veterinary care, LeBrun took the cat home. Hercules soon snuggles up for a nap with his other cat, Kay.
LeBrun quickly realized she would adopt the feline instead of feeding it.
“He’s pretty special – he also gets along with our new puppy, Juni,” she said.
“His jaw is a little twisted and his tongue is almost still hanging out because of what happened to him,” added Perreault, 44. “But he’s a sweet, tough cat. The name Hercules suits him well.
Last fall, LeBrun said, she was browsing social media when she came across an article from Animal Connection, a pet talent agency looking for cats with unusual faces. He was looking for pet designs for Minneapolis-based Target.
LeBrun said the agency loved the photo she sent of Hercules with his tongue hanging out. She was asked to bring her cat into a studio for a photo shoot to gauge her personality and star appeal.
“Hercules did a wonderful job – he’s a friendly cat and everyone loved him,” LeBrun said, noting she received $100 to participate. “They told me his photo will appear on something for Target in early 2024.”
In mid-March, when LeBrun still hadn’t heard back, she went to her local Target and walked down the pet aisle.
When she arrived at an in-store display of branded cat litter, she was stunned and delighted to see the image of her cat – with her pink tongue hanging out – on each bucket of Up & Up Unscented Clumping Litter on the shelf.
She bought some right away.
“All my friends and neighbors too,” LeBrun said. “A friend of mine didn’t tell her son about it when she took him to the store. But he saw the litter and said, “Mom! This cat looks like Hercules.’
LeBrun said Hercules was recently called in for a second photo shoot with Target, meaning he will likely appear on other products in a few months. TV channel Kare 11 recently reported on the cat’s sudden fame as a model.
“He’s a natural and he loves being the center of attention,” LeBrun said, noting that his cat has remained humble and is not at all skittish.
She said she was always amazed by his journey, from being locked in a sweltering car, then escaping and nearly dying, to becoming a feline model.
“I feel very lucky to be the person who spends every day with him,” she said.
