Say hello to Monique!
She had already spent a 100 days at the animal shelter waiting for the right family to come along and adopt her – but nobody came.
With no one applying to adopt her, the staff at Battersea home for cats and dogs decided to throw her a party in the hope of finding someone interested in having Monique join their family.
They decorated Monique’s pen and gave her special toys.
When the big day arrived, not a single person turned up to meet Monique, despite the shelter’s best efforts to blanket to the community with party invitations.
The staff suspected that people will put off adopting Monique because she has Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).
Many believe that since FIV in cats is an incurable condition is instantly fatal. In reality, FIV positive felines (similar to HIV positive humans) can lead a normal, healthy and happy life.
Whoever decided to adopt Monique would have to cat poof their garden.
This would give her a chance to enjoy the outside world without coming into contact with any other cats and potentially spread the virus
It is worth mentioning that FIV cannot be passed on to humans.
All of the staff at the shelter describe Monique as a loving, gentle soul that enjoys human company.
It’s always sad when a pet is in need of a loving home, especially when they would make an ideal, loving companion.
When photos of her solo party were put on social media, they quickly went viral.
The shelter held out hope the perfect person would see them.
And that’s exactly what happened for this fluffy tabby!
Londoner Adnan was watching the local news one evening when he saw Monique’s face flash across the screen.
He knew there and then that he and Monique would make the purr-fect match so he applied to be her forever human.
Before long, she was installed in her forever home and Adnan couldn’t be happier.
“It’s been just Monique and me alone since March,” Adnan explains.
“She’s very talkative and greets me every morning and can be very bossy when she wants treats. She follows me around the house, pawing at me for scratches and giving me headbutts for cuddles.”
Monique adores her new life with her forever human.
“She was initially keen to jump in my lap (which was interesting when I was working). But has now decided that her many napping spots are much more comfortable and will instead summon me for scratches.”
The shelter have said that they still receive enquiries from people willing to give her a home – let’s hope they all decide to adopt another cat in need.