Chicago cat suffered with 5 pounds of matted fur; now he's an internet star [View all]

When Sinbad the cat showed up at the Anti-Cruelty Society, an animal shelter in Chicago, he weighed more than 11 pounds. Five pounds of that was fur.

The 8-year-old Persian's hair was gray, matted and laced with excrement and maggots. It was a shocking and stinking sight, the result of years of lack of grooming and neglect. Shelter workers spent several hours shaving off part of Sinbad's fur, then sedated him for a second, closer-to-the-skin shaving session.

"It really did look like he was dragging a carpet behind him," said Colette Bradley, a spokeswoman for the society. "He was tired, you could tell."

But in the six weeks since Sinbad's arrival at the shelter, he's made a remarkable comeback. His fur has started to grow back - and it's white and fluffy. He's been adopted by a shelter employee, Elliott Serrano. And in a most unlikely turn of events - or, perhaps, the most likely of all - he's become a social media darling.

Read more and see the adorable video at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-cat-matted-fur-20170125-story.html .