‘Sad’ cat struggled with loss of feline sibling. Then came a heartwarming adoption

A “sad” cat struggled with the loss of a feline sibling — then came an emotional adoption.

A grieving family took home a new furry companion in early October, days after Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina . The adoption was a “bright spot” in a region that experienced so much devastation.

“It was so heartwarming,” Sarah Swartz, donor relations manager for the Blue Ridge Humane Society, told McClatchy News in a phone interview. “It came a week after one of the hardest days any of us that live and work in this community have ever seen.”

Two days before the storm left the region with widespread flooding and wind damage, the shelter said Amber and David Moss came to its adoption center. The two were mourning the death of a “beloved feline family member and were looking to bring home a companion for their other cat who had become noticeably withdrawn and sad.”

During the visit, Tony the cat caught the Moss’ eye. Tony was in the middle of a “bite quarantine” period, so the family asked to be notified when he would be available for a meeting, the shelter wrote in a Facebook post.

Then, when Helene hit in late September, the shelter’s adoption center lost power. Since Tony was still in quarantine, Swartz took him into foster care at her office in another building that had electricity.

The cat, described as friendly and playful, was cleared for adoption on Oct. 4. That’s when the shelter reached out to the family who had shown interest in him.

“We had no idea, when we called, what their personal circumstances were going to be, understanding that this area was simply devastated by Hurricane Helene,” Swartz said. “And many homes, many business, many lives were damaged or lost.”

Several shelter animals were moved outside the area after the storm , and the family was “overjoyed” that Tony was still around.

They rushed to the shelter, kicking off their next chapter.

“In a time when nearly all of our adoptions have taken place in foster homes and away from our adoption center, this one was extra special,” the shelter wrote, adding that “it was the purrfect match (contrary to the look on Tony’s face on adoption day!).”

Tony, who may be re-named Otto, had been at the humane society for about two weeks after being transferred from another facility. The humane society is in Hendersonville, a roughly 25-mile drive south from the mountain town of Asheville.

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