An emaciated ginger cat was found in a Bronx Park in New York. He was placed in a kill shelter and his fate was uncertain until a kind couple rescued him. "6 months later, he's back to full health and causing mayhem around the apartment."

From 7 lbs in October to a healthy 13 pounds! Meet JJ Swattington!

"He was found as a stray in a NYC park. Even in his emaciated state he was quite friendly and open to human contact," Danny told Love Meow.

Hannah, Danny's girlfriend, found an alert from the NYC animal care center about a cat who was going to be put down. She contacted them immediately.

The couple was looking for an older cat a week before and when Hannah saw JJ, she knew he was the one.

Out of the shelter and into his new home. All he wanted to do was cuddle.

"JJ was all skin and bones. he was 7 pounds when he was found, and now he's up to about 13 pounds but his appetite still knows no bounds."

"The shelter that found him estimated his age at 10 but as he gets healthier he seems younger and more spry! Our best guess is that he's in the 6-8 range," Danny added.

"When we first got JJ, he was extremely frail so he did a lot of curling up in bed and slept/ate most of the day. He would also purr non stop as a coping mechanism.

"I'd say about a month later he was much more active and was in more of a mood to explore the apartment," Danny told Love Meow.

Secret to health seems to be 'keep eating and sleep all day'.

JJ has taken a liking to the shark bed. He fits perfectly!

Loving the catnip!

He's become a very happy and playful kitty with quite the purrsonality!

"JJ loves playing with his twine."

When JJ finds a box he LOVES...

"This is my box. There are many like it, but this one is mine."

"He's doing fantastic! He's very active, alert (when awake) and quite meowy/chatty too.

"He loooves to swat at things, rubbing on catnip, going up and down the stairs and of course above all eating copious amounts of wet food and taking lots of catnaps!" Danny told Love Meow.

"He's brought a lot of joy into our lives!"

JJ has come a long way since the day he was found. 6 months after he left the shelter, he's a completely different cat - happy, healthy, full of personality and loved!

What a second chance can do! Share this story with your friends! More JJ @jj_swattington