Couple Adopts ‘Depressed’ Cat Fishtopher After Seeing Viral Tweet

• Fishtopher the “frustrated” cat went viral immediately after a Twitter consumer shared screenshots of his Petfinder profile.
• A Baltimore couple advised Insider they drove two hrs and waited in the cold to undertake him.
• Now they’re employing his social media recognition to deliver notice to other shelter animals.

Fishtoper the cat’s journey to his new residence began with a tweet.

On Thursday, Twitter person @MollyClarke shared a screenshot of a Petfinder listing from Homeward Bound Pet Adoption Center in Blackwood, New Jersey. The listing showcased a photo of a massive cat explained as “really unfortunate and frustrated” and “out of kinds” at the shelter.

—Molly Clarke (@mollyaclarke) November 24, 2022

The tweet blew up in excess of Thanksgiving, with 168,000 likes and in excess of 21,000 retweets as of Sunday. Social media people replied with encouragement and shots of their personal rescue cats, hoping somebody would undertake Fishtopher.

One particular of the people today who noticed the downcast feline on the web was Laura Folts, a 22-yr-aged dwelling in Baltimore, Maryland. Folts advised Insider that she and her boyfriend, 24-12 months-old Tanner Callahan, beforehand talked about adopting a pet, so she jokingly despatched the tweet to him on a whim. Minimal did she know, Callahan submitted an application — and quickly heard back from the shelter.

The couple drove from Baltimore to Blackwood on Saturday, leaving around 8 a.m. and arriving at Homeward Bound all over 10 a.m., an hour right before the centre opened. Folts knew that some others would occur to meet Fishtopher, so they waited in the cold to be 1st in line. Their initiatives paid out off.

“I imagine a lot of people today arrived in seeking to see him. And of the group of the initial 10 men and women that had been there at open up, about eight or 9 of them had been there to see Fishtopher. And so they all got to pet him,” she reported. “But we were being the blessed types to consider him house.”

Folts and Callahan stated Homeward Certain told them they obtained hundreds of inquiries about Fishtopher, with some touring from California and the United Arab Emirates.

Just after a auto experience highlighted by a pitstop for cat foods and cuddles, Fishtopher moved into Callahan’s dwelling. The pair states that though he is produced a couple hideouts for himself, he is changing to his new area nicely.

Fishtopher analyzed constructive for feline immunodeficiency virus in accordance to the pair, which the Cornell Feline Well being Middle describes as a popular disorder that attacks a cat’s immune procedure. According to the heart, FIV affects any where from 2.5 to five per cent of normally healthier cats in North America.

Inspite of his health and fitness setback, Fishtopher’s new owners say he is a warm, affectionate pet who loves folks.

—heat miser🔥 (@honkinn) November 26, 2022

Folts started documenting the cat’s new existence with shots on her private Twitter page, and in addition, made a Twitter and Instagram account in his title. The two of Fisthtopher’s social media accounts presently have more than 13,000 followers as of Sunday, which Folts mentioned came as a shock to her.

“It can be been really heartwarming how a good deal of persons are like, ‘You could notify how a lot happier he is,'” she mentioned.

Now that Fishtopher has a system, Folts and Callahan say they want to deliver awareness to other animals in want. Folts regularly retweets photographs and listings for shelter animals, and she said she hopes the folks who kept up with Fishtopher — and purchased him items from a compact desire listing — will notice.

“I genuinely hope folks preserve the very same strength for other cats just because he is extremely distinctive in his glance,” she reported. “But also there’s other cats that are just as one of a kind and specific that need residences and also dollars … People today preferred to send us income for meals or just give us funds simply because we adopted him. And I am just like, ‘No, don’t. Give it to other cats who will not have a household correct now.'”

Homeward Bound’s government director Lysa Boston explained to Insider that the heart is at present about potential and she hopes other individuals will be influenced by Fishtopher’s tale.

“We are thrilled with all the interest that he bought and hope that it will make men and women recognize that we have so several fantastic cats and puppies as properly up for adoption that are so usually neglected,” she mentioned.