A posh pedigree puss was left with a broken back and legs after being battered by his sick owner.
Benito is a British Blue and moggies of the breed are worth up to £1,500.
He was subjected to repetitive blunt force trauma at the hands of his former caregiver.
READ MORE: Hapless dog rescued after plunging off famous TV show cliff
He suffered horrific injuries including a fractured leg, fractured femur, a limp tail, an injured pelvic limb and injured chest.
Each injury was sustained separately in the first year of his life.
But after vets intervened and called the RSPA, Benito was placed into foster care.
And now he’s found his forever home with a family.
“When we took him home on that first day, I was driving and my daughter was in the back trying to comfort him through the cat carrier,” owner Sugra Sabri, 54, said.
“He was panting and breathing really heavily.
“It took about five months before he started sitting at the window to watch birds.
“Now he’s lovely, and he has the full run of the house.”
Benito was taken to the vets by his former owner in November 2023 as he was weak and could barely stand, as reported on Need to Know.
The two-year-old was suffering from a head tremor, knuckling on all four limbs, and his behaviour was dulled and reserved.
Vets discovered he had a fractured spine and were concerned that the injuries were non-accidental, so contacted the RSPCA.
Inspector Vicki Taylor said: “Benito was taken into the vet with yet another injury which was then raised to the RSPCA.
“It is saddening to see the history of Benito and all the injuries he has sustained in a short period of time.
“The investigation also revealed a photograph of a burn that Benito had suffered.
“Benito was clearly being hurt regularly by his owner.
“The vets had raised concerns to the owners and the cruelty still continued.
“Even when Benito was trying to recover from the last injury he would be taken to the vets again with another.
“This is quite saddening to think what Benito was going through and felt.”
Benito was on cage rest for six weeks and received pain relief every eight hours for one month.
He also had physio therapy and was placed into foster care in May 2024 with Sugra and her daughter Razeenah from Walsall, in the West Midlands.
Sugra became so smitten with Benito, now called Benny, that she decided to adopt him.
She said: “We had a separate room ready for him so that he could get used to his own space first before the rest of the house, but he just ran out, with his tail curled in and hid in the corner.
“He wasn’t interested in food, he just huddled in the corner, he didn’t want anyone near him.
“It took him about a week but slowly he came into the kitchen to nose around and move towards us.
“When he first arrived he didn’t seem to grasp what windows and doors were.
“Most cats bolt straight for the window to watch the birds but he didn’t so much as glance at them.
“I mentioned this and the vets said that in his previous home he likely would have been too injured to jump up to the window and he was also in a flat.
“He’s very gentle and loving, never scratches, if he doesn’t want more pets he will just move away.
“Although he’s not a lap cat, he hadn’t had that from a young age so I don’t think it comes naturally to him.
“He will come and sit by us but not on us. He likes people to sit with him whilst he sleeps, and have someone around with him though which is nice.
“If he wants pets he will lie on the floor with his legs in the air.
“I wanted to foster lots of different cats but Benny is just so adorable, sweet and gentle that the idea of giving him up just didn’t sit right with me.
“My daughter is so close to him too.
“He turned two this month so as it’s also my daughter’s birthday they had a joint birthday party at my daughter’s insistence.”
Sadly, Benny is still incredibly jumpy and doesn’t like visitors.
Sugra added: “He would shoot off when we had visitors but now he’s quite happy to lounge around even when we have visitors and he’s got a lot of fans.
“We call him a small cuddly bear as he’s so soft and cuddly, visitors love him, we love him.”
The British Shorthair is the pedigree version of the traditional British domestic cat, with a distinctively stocky body, thick coat, and broad face.
The most familiar colour variant is the British Blue, like Benny.
READ MORE: Feisty dolphin spotted battling conger eel in rarely seen fight
