A little act of compassion might mean a lot more than you realize. It altered everything for a cat named Granpruno.

A Montreal couple started leaving food out for abandoned cats in their area last summer. It didn’t take them long to discover a grumpy-looking cat who appeared particularly hungry. He resembled Pruno, one of their kittens, therefore he was given the moniker “Granpruno.”

Granpruno returned to the couple’s yard for daily visits, but he was so loving and social that they assumed he had a home and a family somewhere.

“This big cat was looking for caresses and he was happy to have attention. He came as soon as they called him,” Chatons Orphelins Montréal, a Montreal-based animal rescue, wrote on Facebook. “He was nice and sociable; his hair was beautiful [and] he looked normal.”

When Granpruno failed to appear one day, the couple were concerned. They thought he was safe and happy with his family, but they continued to leave food out and keep an eye on their yard in case he returned.

They were taking out the trash a few weeks later when they discovered Granpruno in their bin. They couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw how much the adorable cat had changed.

Chatons Orphelins Montréal wrote, “He was skin and bones and he didn’t seem good at all.” “When he approached them, they immediately hugged him. Without saying anything, he let himself depart [with them].”

The pair, who volunteer with Chatons Orphelins Montréal, saw that he need emergency medical treatment and brought him to the rescue for assistance. Granpruno had hyperthyroidism, which made it difficult for him to keep meals down, according to test findings.

However, as the 9-year-old cat began taking medicine, he returned to being his usual happy, healthy self.

“He’s the cream of the crop and he gets along well with the other cats in the house,” Chatons Orphelins Montréal wrote on Facebook. “He likes to talk or to have cuddles [and] still likes to have fun. If you have feathers or games with catnip, he becomes a cat that rolls on his back and rubs himself with pleasure. He runs after feathers and he has fun like a baby.”

Granpruno is now safe, living a comfortable life with a family who loves him. He isn’t allowing his employees out of his sight, either.

“He constantly wants to be near his humans,” says the narrator, “Montreal’s Chatons Orphelins said. “He follows them about the house to see what they’re up to.”