A lucky cat somehow managed to survive 52 days locked in an abandoned house in the Dutch town of Vlaardingen, eating paper and struggling to find water sources.

At the end of last month, the new owners of a house in Vlaardingen were shocked to see a thin, visibly malnourished cat race past them as they opened the front door of their property. They had bought the place at an auction, so this was the first time they set foot in it. Animal Shelter Vlaardingen was contacted and they managed to catch the feline and started an investigation. It turns out that the former owner had disappeared on July 1st and the cat had been struggling to survive by itself ever since.

It’s unclear if the cat’s former owner abandoned the animal, or if he planned to come back for it and something bad happened to him at some point, but Animal Shelter Vlaardingen didn’t find any traces of food left behind for the cat, and even if there was at some point, it had been consumed way before the rescue operation.

But what really surprised rescuers was the fact that the cat had no easy access to water, but somehow managed to find a reliable source. It’s not clear where the male feline, dubbed Finn, found water, but some speculate that there must have been a leaky tap somewhere in the house.

Finn was taken to an emergency clinic where he had his blood tested and he was then put on IV. His stool was full of paper scraps, which suggests that he tried feeding on paper, but other than the fact that he looked malnourished, he seemed in good health.

The experience seems to have been quite traumatizing for Finn, as he is now extremely shy and even fearful of people. Still, veterinarians expect the cat to make a full recovery and regain its trust in humans. Staff at Animal Shelter Vlaardingen said that Fin will be put up for adoption.

A crowdfunding action has brought in the necessary money to pay for Finn’s medical costs, and support has been pouring in for the brave cat for weeks.

“We hope Finn improves. You always have to be careful with that after such a long time, but he seems to be healthy,” Dik Nagtegaal of the Animal Protection Society, said. “Finn is making small steps forward, he weighed 2.6 kilos last week and already 3 kilos today. He gets food several times a day to strengthen.”