The ‘world’s worst cat’ who went viral after a shelter posted an ad of her looking furious is now living it up in her new home.
Perdita the cat went from being the ‘worst cat’ to the most popular cat overnight when an adoption ad hit headlines and attracted almost 200 applications from humans who wanted the challenge of breaking down the feline’s hostile attitude.
Mitchell County Animal Rescue in North Carolina shared an image of the black and white cat on Facebook in January, labeling her the ‘World’s Worst Cat’ and a ‘jerk’.
The brutally honest ad told how four-year-old Perdita came to the shelter after her owner died and initially fooled staff into thinking her catty behavior was because she was under the weather.
Perdita the cat went from being the ‘worst cat’ to the most popular cat overnight when an adoption ad hit headlines and attracted almost 200 applications from humans who wanted the challenge of breaking down the feline’s hostile attitude
Mitchell County Animal Rescue in North Carolina shared a brutally honest ad (above) for the black and white cat on Facebook in January, labeling her the ‘World’s Worst Cat’ and a ‘jerk’
The ad to adopt the feline described her as a pet that’s ‘not for the faint of heart’ and it describes her ‘likes’ as ‘staring into your soul until you feel as if you may never be cheerful again’ and ‘fooling shelter staff into thinking she’s sick’
As it turned out, as the ad said, the ‘vet agrees…she’s just a jerk’.
The ad went on to list her dislikes as ‘the color pink, kittens (yuk they are so chipper), dogs, children, the Dixie Chicks, Disney movies, Christmas and last but NOT least…HUGS.’
Her likes apparently include ‘staring into your soul until you feel as if you may never be cheerful again’ and the song Cat Scratch Fever.
A photo of Perdita showed her looking unimpressed in front of a Christmas tree.
The shelter even scrapped the adoption fee for fears that no one would want to take home a cat with behavior problems.
But far from confine Perdita to a sad, lonely life, just weeks later she is enjoying (as much as is possible for the grumpy cat) her new home and now goes by the name Noel.
‘We had an instant connection to her and her to us as well,’ Betty Samimi, one of the cat’s new humans, told HuffPost.
That said, old habits die hard and it turns out Perdita/Noel is still a bit of a ‘jerk’.
‘Some days [are] better than others,’ Samimi said, admitting the feisty feline does still resort to scratching and biting when she wants her own way.
Far from her moodiness confining her to a sad, lonely life, she is now enjoying (as much as is possible for the grumpy cat) her new home and goes by the name Noel
One of her new owners said she had an ‘instant connection’ with the feline
However, Samimi added that she can be ‘very lovable’ and is starting to make friends with one of her new feline housemates.
Amber Lowery, executive director of MCAR, the nonprofit that runs the shelter, said that, though offers poured in to adopt the cat, it was important to find her a new home with people who could handle her moods and didn’t just want to ‘jump on the bandwagon’ of owning the infamous animal.
Within hours of the ad being posted, it had been shared more than 900 times on social media by cat lovers and moody humans alike.
But is she still a jerk? Her owner admits the feisty feline does still resort to scratching and biting when she wants her own way but still adds that she is ‘a joy’
Perdita is ‘my entire mood of this year. Official mascot of 2020,’ one post read.
‘[The ad] was funny and it was meant to be a joke, but we also knew that whoever took her was going to have to be a real cat person,’ Lowery said.
Samimi and her partner were the perfect fit, with experience of cats and plenty of space for Perdita/Noel to go off and try to get some zen if she’s having a particularly bad day.
And though her challenging side isn’t showing signs of going away anytime soon, Samimi clearly loves the cat’s unlovable side: ‘She really is a joy and our wish for her is to have a long and happy life.’