From scrawny to spoiled: three Omsk cats' new lives

Hundreds of cats are waiting for new families in Omsk shelters. Some were born on the street, others were abandoned by their owners — the stories differ, but the ending is the same: a cage. However, for three furry residents of municipal shelters, things turned out differently. An NGS55.RU correspondent learned how stray cats from Omsk gained not just a roof over their heads, but a real family — with tasty food, cozy beds and love.

Mars used to be called Vasya. He lived with a lonely pensioner and her dog. The woman was injured and stopped caring for the flat — it fell into neglect, and the pets went to the toilet right on the floor. They spent several weeks in that state of stress.

A neighbor took pity and called volunteers from the municipal shelter. Thus the cat and the dog were removed. Unfortunately, the little dog was found to have a tumor, while Mars had no health problems detected at that point.

Oksana had long been following the shelter«s VKontakte group. In December 2025 her cat Musya died — she had lived almost 14 years. The Omsk woman did not plan to get a new pet until she came across a video of a sad cat in a cage. She could not resist the purring creature»s eyes.

«I told my daughter, and we decided to take him home,» Oksana says.

Mars has lived with his new family for only a month, but he settled in lightning-fast.

«Half an hour after we arrived from the shelter, the kitty drank some water, ate, came to my sofa and lay down next to me.»

Now the family is finishing treatment for Mars«s otitis — the illness had developed before the shelter, at his previous owner»s home.

«We«re treating his ear, washing it, putting in drops. It»s already easier,» the owner adds.

Laska used to live with an elderly owner. After the woman died, the cat was put out on the street — along with her bed. Then the caretakers threw away the bedding, and the fluffy cat moved under a bench by the entrance. Kind-hearted old women fed her, but the neighbors began to find her a nuisance… because of her excessive affection.

Nadezhda saw a photo in the VKontakte group of the private shelter ZooSpas (Animal Rescue). During her time on the street, the white beauty had turned gray. The post was published on 21 June 2024, and the very next day the woman took the cat home.

«She practically never even made it into the shelter. They cleaned her up a little there and brought her to me. Our princess has been living with us for two years now,» Nadezhda shares.

By that time she and her husband already had a street cat named Slavik. They wanted to find him a companion. But the two turned out to have different personalities. They don«t groom each other, don»t sleep in each other«s embrace, and sometimes there are squabbles. But it never escalates into major problems.

Laska certainly has character. «She«s grumpy like an old woman. She lived with a grandmother, so she»s a grumbler herself,» the owner says.

At first Nadezhda and her husband adjusted to their new pet. The cat didn«t want to use the litter box — they walked her on a leash after work. Laska especially loved bushes, and climbing into stinging nettles was a sacred ritual for her.

«Those moments just pass you by when she climbs onto the sofa with you and starts scooping your hand with her paws so she can put her head in your palm. Or when she holds your hand with her paws, puts her head down and starts rubbing against you like a dog. That«s the most precious thing.»

In the winter of 2019, near a dormitory in Port Arthur (a district of Omsk), ZooSpas volunteers found a frozen and hungry cat. How Seryoga ended up on the street is unknown. But his homeless life took its toll: the poor thing had all his teeth removed. For a long time no one wanted to take in a cat who needed special soft food.

Tatyana saw a notice about Seryoga in the summer of 2025. His sad eyes touched her heart. In August the woman came to the shelter to meet him — she brought good soft canned food. But the cat wouldn«t eat. He was frightened and scrawny.

After the meeting, Tatyana temporarily forgot about Seryoga. All her attention went to Tisha — a former street cat from a heating main who had been given a terrible diagnosis.

«At that time I had a very difficult situation with Tisha. He was 10 years old, from the street, from a heating main. He suffered from kidney failure, and I was busy caring for him. And somehow, you know, I had no time for Seryoga. Tisha needed these IV drips and injections every day,» the woman recalls.

Tisha died in mid-November 2025. Ten days later Tatyana was driving past the cat section of ZooSpas. She stopped at a traffic light and suddenly remembered Seryoga vividly. Soon after, she and her husband took the cat home.

Home life did not begin like a fairy tale. In February 2026 Seryoga was found to have an infection — he had picked it up at the shelter. It came to a blood transfusion. The donor was Tatyana«s other cat, Barri.

Now the purring cat is doing well. The owner herself laughs and calls him a «cheeky creature.»

«You can«t stop watching a fire, water, or Seryoga putting on his belly. He»s flourished, settled in. He«ll brazenly chatter, flop right onto you so you»ll stroke him and stroke him. He needs to make up for years of missing affection. On the first night he immediately lay down with us, wedged himself between us. Now, of course, he has three folds on his neck.»