Just north of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, one woman has made it her life’s mission to help the cats that no one else will.
Her name is Carmen Morales Weinberg.
And through her non-profit, Animal Friends Project, she spends nearly every waking hour rescuing, treating, and caring for stray and feral cats across the area.
It’s not glamorous work, far from it.
Every day, Carmen encounters cats suffering from malnutrition, parasites, infections, or worse. But no matter how severe the case, she never turns one away.
For Carmen, every life is worth saving.
And one day, she met a ginger cat who would test her compassion and patience more than most, a cat she later named Simba.
When Carmen first heard about Simba, she was already overwhelmed with animals needing care.
But when a local woman called about a stray cat that had appeared in her yard looking desperately ill, Carmen didn’t hesitate.
“I couldn’t ignore his case,” she explained. “He needed help, and fast.”
When she arrived at the house, she immediately spotted him, a thin, orange cat with his skin covered in thick, crusty patches of mange.
His fur had almost disappeared, replaced by hardened scabs, and he could barely open his eyes.
“He started crying loudly as soon as he saw me,” Carmen recalled. “You could see how much he wanted help.”
She set down a humane trap and opened a can of food, hoping to lure him in. But Simba didn’t need convincing.
He walked right inside, drawn by the smell and perhaps sensing that help had finally arrived.
“I didn’t even have to set the trap,” Carmen said. “He just walked right in.”
Once she had him safely in her care, Carmen took him home and began treatment immediately.
She named him Simba, a fitting name for the brave little fighter she was about to nurse back to health.
Simba’s condition was heartbreaking. The mange had covered almost every inch of his body, forming a thick shell over his skin.
Caused by parasitic mites, the condition is not only painful but also contagious to other cats.
Carmen knew it would be a long recovery, but she was determined to help him heal.
She began a careful regimen of medicated baths, soothing ointments, and plenty of nutritious food.
For the first time in a long time, Simba had a warm bed, clean water, and gentle hands caring for him.
In just a few days, small changes began to appear.
The mites started dying off, the scabs began to loosen, and Simba could finally relax enough to stretch his tired body.
Carmen also applied eye drops daily, hoping to clear up his swollen eyelids.
Then, one morning, something incredible happened, Simba opened his eyes.
For the first time since his rescue, he looked directly at Carmen.
His once-sealed eyelids parted just enough to reveal a tiny glimmer of life and gratitude.
“It was such a special moment,” she said. “It felt like he was finally seeing the world again.”
As the days passed, Simba’s transformation only grew more remarkable.
He began purring when Carmen approached, his appetite returned with enthusiasm, and his fur started to grow back soft and shiny.
The hardened shell that had once covered him was gone, replaced by a healthy ginger coat.
A trip to the vet confirmed just how far he’d come.
The staff at Chasewood Animal Hospital shaved away the remaining crusted patches and confirmed that Simba had tested negative for FeLV and FIV, two common feline viruses.
He was finally out of danger.
Simba’s fur continued to regrow, his skin healed, and his confidence blossomed.
The once-terrified stray now loved to snuggle and roll around after meals, soaking up the love and safety he had never known before.
There was only one thing he still didn’t like, getting his ears cleaned.
“Simba’s been such a good boy through everything,” Carmen said with a laugh. “But when it’s time to clean his ears, he makes it very clear that he’s not a fan.”
With his mange fully treated and his trust in humans restored, Simba was finally ready for the next step, finding a home.
Carmen hopes he’ll soon move into a foster environment where he can roam freely and learn to live the comfortable, carefree life he’s always deserved.
From a desperate stray covered in mange to a handsome, healthy ginger cat, Simba’s journey is living proof of what love, patience, and compassion can do.
“He went through so much,” Carmen said. “But now, he’s happy, healthy, and finally seeing the world again, just the way he was always meant to.”