Fishtopher, a 5-year-old cat, was reportedly «sad and depressed» as he sat at the Homeward Bound Pet Adoption Center in New Jersey waiting to be adopted.
The «quiet» «sofa addict» seemed «out of place,» the center wrote in its pet finder listing. She only «ate when he had company» and «didn’t even look for pictures.»
But on Thanksgiving, Fishtopher’s luck changed after a cheep sharing his Petfinder profile went viral. The tweet quickly racked up more than 168,000 likes and 21,000 retweets. Many people in the responses shared their own cat adoption stories.
the shelter said in a Facebook post over the weekend he received «hundreds of inquiries» about Fishtopher.
On Saturday, Laura Folts, 22, and her partner Tanner Callahan, 24, were the two who gave Fishtopher a forever home, according to Well-informed person.
Representatives for the shelter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Folts and Callahan also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
sheets tweeted the ride home with Fishtopher. After popular demand, he also began Twitter Y instagram accounts dedicated to your new pet.
«He’s very shy, but once you hold him, he likes to hide his face in the crook of your arm,» Folts said of Fishtopher, answering to a tweet asking how he is.
“FISHTOPHER HAS LEFT THE BUILDING,” the shelter wrote in a Facebook update. on Saturday.
The couple drove two hours from Baltimore to Blackwood, New Jersey, to meet Fishtopher, according to Well-informed person. Folts told the publication that they were interested in adopting Fishtopher after seeing the tweet about him. They said they got to the shelter an hour before he opened, and there were eight or nine others there to see Fishtopher.
While there is only one Fishtopher, the shelter and Folts have been encouraging people to adopt other animals that need new homes. Folts retweeted several posts about cats. in need of houses from Fishtopher’s account.
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«I want to use this new audience to help other fishtophers and give people funny cat pictures of him relaxing at home (which is what the internet was made for),» a recent cheep from Fishtopher’s account read.
The Homeward Bound Pet Adoption Center also asked people interested in Fishtopher to save their other rescues.
«We are so happy for him, but if you were interested in him, have no fear. We have hundreds of other kitties who are just as wonderful and want people to come and line up for them,» the shelter continued. in its facebook post Saturday.
In their about page on your websiteThe Homeward Bound Pet Adoption Center shared that it is working with other animal welfare organizations to help New Jersey achieve «no kill» status by 2025, according to the best friends animal society.
The initiative defines a «no kill» shelter as having a savings rate of 90% or higher, meaning it has the resources to save as many dogs and cats as it can. The benchmark is 90% because the proportion of dogs and cats entering shelters with «irreparable medical or behavioral problems» typically does not exceed 10%, according to Best Friends. The Homeward Bound Pet Adoption Center reported a 96% savings rate in 2021.
In addition to Fishtopher, the shelter shared on its Facebook page 16 other animals that were adopted last weekend.