Cat with two pounds of matted fur finds new home

A neglected cat who had been found with a drastic amount of overgrown fur is doing much better after finding a new home.

Paul Russell discovered the cat after his 82-year-old relative with Alzheimers was moved into a home. Russell originally thought that his relative had just one cat, but what he found at the home was an additional feline with two pounds of matted fur.

"Out from under a bed it darted," Russell told PEOPLE. "At first I thought it was a cat that had a blanket on top of it. The next day I went into the creepy old cellar and it was hunkered in a corner. I thought, 'My god this is a cat.'"

The 14-year-old cat was brought to the Animal Rescue League Shelter & Wildlife Center in Pittsburgh last week, who shared images of the distressed cat on Facebook.

"Our Medical team shaved off the pounds of intertwined fur from her body &, needless to say, this cat is feeling so much better now!" the shelter said in their Facebook post.

Russell and his family ended up adopting the cat, now affectionately named Hidey, along with the relative's other feline. Hidey is still adjusting to new life with the family and their other pets, but Russell says that the cat is starting to open up more.

Dan Rossi, CEO of the Animal Rescue League Shelter and the Western PA Humane Society, said that while pet ownership can bring great benefits to the elderly, its still important to make sure older relatives and friends are able to care for their pets.

"If a family member, friend or neighbor owns a pet, please help them to make sure there is a support system in place if/when mental faculties begin diminishing," Rossi told PEOPLE. "Also, open door shelters such as Animal Rescue League Shelter and the Western PA Humane Society do not turn any animal away if there are no other options for the pet."