Adopted Cat Finds her Soulmate

As most people did, I had big plans for 2020. I’m turning 40 in December and there are so many things I wanted to cross off my list — like travel more and finish writing my first musical! But mostly I was going to find my soulmate this year, or at least figure out why love has kept escaping me. So, my mission was simple: go on as many first dates as possible. I mean it’s a numbers game, right? Things started off well and one date actually turned into two months, but then a global pandemic hit. Turns out, someone you’ve only dated for two months isn’t the best quarantine buddy and my mission for love turned elsewhere.

It took two long months in lockdown before I finally figured it out: I needed unconditional love that would last not just through COVID-19, but for a lifetime. Every night in April, I started scrolling through Instagram looking at New York City adoption animals. I used to do this with dating profiles, now I was doing it with cat adoption profiles. That’s when I saw Bast: a tiny cat who’s mostly grey with little white socks on her paws. I quickly emailed and I got a message back that I was going to have a video date with Bast. I’d tried to do a few video dates before, but those failed spectacularly, so I was nervous. I wanted to make a good impression, so I did what I’ve heard I should do to tell the universe I’m ready: I prepared! I bought all the cat supplies for next-day delivery because if there was something I knew about love, it was that you have to trust. 

Soon I met Bast over video and it hit me like a ton of bricks: I just met my soulmate. I knew instantly I wanted to adopt her. After some emails, it was all set and Bast was on her way to me. I’ll never forget the day she arrived because I was so nervous. While our first nights together were a bit sleepless, soon she adjusted like she was always meant to be with me. Bast wakes me up gently in the morning, and we always wake up at the same time — we’re night owls, so we like to sleep in. We have our daily routines and since I’m a vocal coach and songwriter, we spend many hours near the piano in my apartment. In fact, my students like to joke that she’s my assistant who has just as many notes to give on their singing as I do. I can’t imagine my life now without Bast and I know when I finally meet my human soulmate, Bast will be there for us, making sure we keep the home full of love and plenty of meat sticks.

Each year, Petco Love Holiday Wishes campaign invites adopters to share stories of how their pets have changed their lives to give the organizations that they’ve adopted from the chance to receive grant awards. This story by Caroline won Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition in Brooklyn, New York a 2020 Holiday Wishes award.