So many people immediately run straight for the kittens when they head to the shelter to adopt. That’s because they fail to realize all the love and charm that senior cats possess.
One Utah family visited Best Friends Animal Society and started to look at kittens but soon fell in love with the 20-year-old cat named Dexter.
“I will admit, Dexter was not the prettiest looking feline,” one of his human parents said on their blog. “He was 20 years old, very skinny and scraggly and fragile. But there was something very endearing in his crooked little smile and cranky-sounding meow.”
The family knew that Dexter’s days were numbered but wanted to give the toothless senior cat a happy home during his final days.
When Dexter came home with his new family he made a new best friend that very day. Their 5-year-old son J.J. immediately bonded with Dexter and insisted that he exclusively feed him and take care of him.
The other dogs in the house were also protective over Dexter and made him feel like one of the gang.
Dexter spent his days cuddling up with his new family and looking for pets that make him purr. As a senior, Dexter was very set in his ways and had a specific routine. He absolutely had to eat at 4:30 a.m. and would harass his family until they woke up to feed him.
And for two years Dexter was the king of the household. But after being loved unconditionally by his new family for those two years, he passed away.
“The best cat in the entire world has left us,” wrote Jill Williams on YouTube. “We will never forget the love and happiness he gave in his very short time with our family. Rest in peace, Dexter.”
One of Dexter’s parents wrote a touching tribute to Dexter on their blog Redrocks and Beyond.
“Dexter was so many things to so many people. He was a fuzzy soulmate, a lap warmer, a nap buddy, a gamer, a bookmark, a passing snack (ok — to clarify that one — Flora loved to “clean up” her buddy Dexter after all of his daily meals), an icon (he had a fan club!!),” they explained.
“But mostly, Dexter is a reminder of why every single pet who is currently homeless in a shelter deserves a chance to have a warm bed and family, no matter how long that may be.”
Watch a touching video of Dexter’s life in the video below.
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