A cat that was dumped at a shelter for being “too affectionate” has found a new forever home.
The 4-year-old feline, called Jerry, has melted hearts online after a viral TikTok video shared his story.
The Humane Society of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, shared Jerry’s story after he came to the shelter.
Gaining over 8 million views, Jerry’s heart-breaking story has captured attention around the world.
Susan Leonti from The Humane Society of Broward County told Newsweek: “Too affectionate—that’s the reason 4-year-old Jerry was given-up. Jerry is a sweet cat that loves to be petted and rub up against you, but his former owner said it annoyed her too much. Jerry loved her, but she didn’t love him back, so she turned him in to our shelter.”
Dubbed a “lovebug” by staff at the shelter, viewers rushed to share their love for the affectionate feline.
“Oh Jerry,” said one commenter. “This has actually genuinely hurt my heart.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “What an absolute sweetheart. I hope he finds the home he deserves.
“Jerry I love you so much you deserve such a happy life,” said another commenter. “Who wouldn’t want an affectionate cat.”
Thanks to the viral video, Jerry’s story has a happy ending. Less than 24 hours after posting the video, he was adopted by a local cat lover.
“We were delighted with the social media response to Jerry’s video. We had adopters from around the world submitting applications to adopt him,” said Leonti.
Jerry was offered a new home alongside another resident cat where he can share all of the love he has to give.
The shelter shared the happy news in a second TikTok video which received thousands of delighted comments.
“I was bawling from the first Jerry video out of anger and sadness,” said one reply. “Now I’m bawling from overwhelming happiness he’s adopted!”
Another commenter said: “Wasn’t expecting to be crying at a cat getting adopted at 5 p.m. on a Friday, but here we are. I’m so glad Jerry got a forever home.”
The Humane Society of Broward County currently has 19 cats waiting for forever homes, with more being surrendered every day.
“Jerry’s story illustrates the power of social media in helping shelter animals get adopted,” said Leonti. “We like to remind adopters that if they can’t adopt from the Humane Society of Broward County, there are cats just like Jerry waiting at their local shelters as well.”
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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