Senior cat left at shelter, note on door breaks hearts but there’s a twist

A 12-year-old tortoiseshell cat named Pippa, described as “sad and scared” in a note left on her enclosure, has found her forever home.

The note also states that Pippa’s owner had died which is how she ended up in the shelter. It turns out the feline isn’t the only one dealing with loss as her new owner, who goes by NewInitiative9498 on Reddit, is also mourning.

The January 20 post titled: “finally adopting again after 1 year of mourning,” quickly went viral, earning 45,000 upvotes, at the time of writing.

In a comment, the user, 54, said shelter staff told her Pippa had lived with her human in an assisted-living facility and that there was no family to contact; the adopter added, “I only hope I can live up to that sweet soul who cared for her before I found her.”

In a further update, the adopter shared a photo of Pippa resting her head on her new owner with the comment: “24 hours in, I think she likes me.”

The January 20 post also said: “Two firsts for me…a female cat and getting her already at senior age (my other cats I had from kittens until they crossed over),” meaning they passed away.

Research Finds Pet Bereavement Often Mirrors Human-Loss Grief

A U.K. survey of 975 adults found that grief after losing a pet can be just as intense as losing a person. Nearly everyone who had lost a pet had also experienced a human loss, yet 21 percent said the death of their pet caused them the most distress.

The study, conducted by researchers from Maynooth University Department of Psychology, showed that 7.5 percent of bereaved pet owners met the criteria for prolonged grief disorder—similar to rates seen after losing a close friend, grandparent, sibling or even a partner. Only the death of a parent or child produced higher levels of prolonged grief.

Reddit Reacts

Commenters responded to the images and description with encouragement and empathy.

One user said: “She’s sad and scared? Poor baby. Now she has you!!!”

Another wrote: “Need to see that ‘after’ glow once she realizes she’s finally home”

A third user wrote: “The ‘sad and scared’ tag broke my heart. That sweet baby deserves someone to love her for the rest of her life.

“I’ve always liked to think that we live longer than they do so that we can love many of them in our lifetimes. Thank you for adopting a senior cat.”

Newsweek reached out to u/NewInitiative9498 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.