“I’ll tell him when it’s time for a new cat, Charlie will send us one.”

From birth, Jonathan and his cat, Charlie, were best friends. They took naps together, ate together and even took baths together. There was rarely a time when they weren’t together.

“Jonathan was the first baby Charlie ever saw up close,” says Valerie, Jonathan’s mother. “He took his role as protector very seriously.”

Charlie died last June at the age of 15. His whole family was devastated, especially Jonathan, now 6 years old. He missed his furry boyfriend terribly and begged his family since Charlie’s death to adopt a new cat. But his mother wasn’t sure if they were ready for this.

“I’ll tell him that when it’s time for a new cat, Charlie will send us one,” says Valerie.

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One day in November, Valerie was at home when a fluffy red cat came in from nowhere. She immediately saw it was an affectionate animal, so she sat down with him – and he immediately jumped on her lap. The two of them stayed like that for about an hour, until the cat got frightened of a car and ran off. However, two days later he came back, and this time, Valerie made sure Jonathan was around to meet him.

“My youngest was in love with the fluffy cat from the very first moment,” says Valerie. “The hairy visitor overwhelmed my son with attention and love. Jonathan was immediately super excited, just like the rest of the family.”

Jonathan was overjoyed to have another cat to play with, and quickly, the friendly cat came by every day to say hello. Valerie suspected he probably had an owner, so she tried to track down his family. She bought a collar and badge with the text “We love your cat” on one side, and “Please call us” on the other, including her phone number. The cat left with his new collar – and soon Valerie was called by his owner!

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“It turned out to be a 69-year-old woman from the neighborhood. She was so happy that we got on well with Garfield,” says Valerie. “He came running over 10 years ago as a stray cat and had stayed with her. Apparently, he never lost his roaming habits because he spent most of the day outdoors.”

It seems that Garfield has a habit of finding the people who need him most – like a boy who lost his cat and is desperate for a new playmate.

Although Garfield has his own family, his boss wanted to ‘share custody’ so Garfield’s visits to Valerie and Jonathan never have to end.

“We’re his second family now,” said Valerie.

Someday, the family will be ready to adopt a new cat, but until then, they will love Garfield. Jonathan has a close relationship with his new boyfriend, it’s like Charlie sent Garfield to keep him company instead.