Hearts Break for Cats Not Chosen on Shelter’s Adoption Day: ‘Crying’

A cat rescue shelter has broken hearts on the internet after revealing that 15 out of its 25 cats didn’t get a new home on adoption day, in a clip that quickly went viral on social media.

In the viral video, shared on TikTok in October under the username Strongheartscatsrescue, the shelter, located in Melbourne, Australia, explained that during the adoption day, more than half of their cats weren’t lucky enough to get adopted, and they’re all still patiently waiting to get their forever home.

Cats are the second most popular pets in America, coming after dogs, according to Forbes. Over 65.1 million households in this country have one or more dogs and about 46.5 million households have at least one cat. Freshwater fish come third with 11.1 million households.

The post comes with a caption that says: “Cats that didn’t get chosen at our adoption day.” The first one up is Bruce a 13-year-old fluffy black cat, followed by Bunsen and Scope, who are described as two “shy boys.” Next, there is a bonded trio with missing eyes.

The clip then moves on to Angelique, an eight-month calico, followed by two big orange boys, Promethium and Supreme Cheese. Next up are two tuxedo cats, Big Boy Orca and Pepito, followed by a pair of bonded brother and sister, Cream and Puff.

Still waiting to get a new home are also Sweet Girl Cobalt, Big Cheek Frankfurt, and Little Bear, who has already been returned twice. Perfect boy Stewie has been waiting patiently for over 225 days.

A post explains: “10/25 cats adopted today. While 10 amazing souls got to go to their forever home today, we have many that didn’t. Here’s a little glimpse of the kitties still patiently waiting for their turn.

“They watch on as their friends get picked up and kissed, then put into a brand new carrier as they’re being chosen, while they sit there and hope for their special person to come along. Let’s help them make that dream into a reality!”

Each year, 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet “Shelter Watch Report” found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 9.3 million views and 1.8 million likes on the platform.

One user, 1sugar_sweet1, commented: “ADOPT DON’T SHOP OMGGG I’M CRYINGGG!!!” And Hayashidatetsurou said: “Someone please adopt Bruce. He’s 13 and his time’s running out. He needs to feel loved & have a family he can call his own during his remaining years.”

Newsweek reached out to Strongheartscatsrescue for comment via Instagram. We could not verify the details of the case.

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