A 10-year-old cat was found tied to a post in the middle of a farmland, left to freeze overnight with nothing but a handwritten note by her side.
Her name is Maybelline. And the story of how she was found has left thousands of people furious, heartbroken, and asking how anyone could do this.
It was early morning in West Virginia when a staff member from the Humane Society of Harrison County spotted something strange while driving past a local pumpkin farm.
She pulled over for a closer look. What she found was shocking.
Tied tightly to a wooden post, just standing there in 12-degree weather, was a shivering cat. No food. No shelter. Just a thin cord holding her in place and a single note.
The note simply read:
“Her name is Maybelline. She is spaid and is a good cat. I can’t keep her anymore. Sorry you weren’t open.”
No name. No explanation. Just an apology scrawled on paper, left next to a cat who could have easily frozen to death in the cold.
The shelter shared the story on Facebook and it quickly went viral. The post was blunt: “This is NOT ok.”
Photos of Maybelline at the scene looking cold and confused were enough to send the comments section into meltdown. And honestly, it’s easy to see why.
The cat was left in one of the most vulnerable positions imaginable. Anyone who’s ever cared for a pet knows this isn’t how you say goodbye.
Since being rescued, Maybelline has been placed in quarantine where she’s warm, safe, and receiving medical care.
The team at the shelter says she’s doing well, but she won’t be available for adoption for at least two weeks.
They want to make sure she’s healthy and emotionally stable before finding her a new home.
But the internet hasn’t been quiet.
The shelter’s post has sparked an outpouring of anger and compassion from animal lovers across the country.
Many were stunned by the fact she was abandoned so close to help, just feet away from the shelter, which wasn’t yet open at the time.
One user wrote, “I literally could not imagine. This breaks my heart. That poor baby deserves so much better.”
Another added, “If you can’t care for a pet, surrender them properly. Don’t just leave them to freeze. That’s cruelty.”
To be clear, the Humane Society says they’re not trying to shame the person who left Maybelline behind. Their goal is to raise awareness about how not to handle these situations.
“If you need to surrender an animal, please contact animal control,” they said in a follow-up post. “Leaving a pet outside in freezing weather is not the way.”
They also clarified that Maybelline was left on a nearby farm, not at the shelter directly. Which makes the decision even more dangerous since it’s rural, isolated, and barely trafficked in the early morning.
If that staff member hadn’t passed by when she did, Maybelline might not have survived the day.
The truth is, rehoming a pet can be emotional and difficult. But there are safe, responsible ways to do it. Leaving an animal tied up in below-freezing weather is not one of them.
As for Maybelline, she’s become something of a quiet star online. Her story has been shared hundreds of times and continues to gain attention.
People from all over are asking about her and offering donations or future adoption.
For now, she’s resting. She’s in good hands. And after what she’s been through, she deserves nothing less than a calm, loving home.
If there’s one thing this story proves, it’s that a cat like Maybelline may have been abandoned, but she hasn’t been forgotten.