When she bent down to take a closer look, she was shocked to find a sickly kitten.

The tiny cat was barely more than skin and bones, covered in sores, dirty and nearly bald. She smelled awful — but Hamizah Had couldn’t look away.

“She looked very poor and was begging me to help her,” Hamizah Had told The Dodo. “I was so touched the first time I saw her. I told myself, ‘If she can survive, I will take care of her and love her as much as I can.’”

While the kitten looked too sick to survive, something in her large yellow eyes told Hamizah Had that she was a fighter. So Hamizah Had got a cardboard box and placed it in front of the kitten. And to her surprise, the kitten walked right in and plopped down.

Hamizah Had brought the kitten inside and named her Meimei.

The next day, she took Meimei to the vet and learned just what to do to help her recover. The kitten only weighed 4 pounds and had open sores that needed treatment, as well as other skin issues.

But with the care and love of Hamizah Had, Meimei’s appearance began to change.

She started eating.

Her fur grew back.

And after just five months, the dirty little stray transformed into a healthy, fluffy girl.

Meimei now weighs over 13 pounds and loves her life as a house cat.

“She likes to eat, she likes to sleep, she likes to play around my house,” Hamizah Had said. “But if she sees someone not familiar, she will run and hide.”

Hamizah Had is always happy to help out a stray cat in need and hopes that Meimei’s transformation can show that any street cat can become a princess — if they’re just given a little love.