Adopter sees the sweetness in shy senior cat

All of Ginger Whitmore’s cats before Sugar came to her on their own. They wandered up through the yard, and she welcomed them. With Sugar, the reverse happened. Ginger wandered to the back room at the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles during a volunteer shift to get a look at some senior cats, and there was Sugar.

Sugar arrived at Best Friends after her person of 11 years passed away, and she was understandably nervous about all the unfamiliar people and sights in her new home-between-homes. Reaching toward the shy white cat, Ginger was a little surprised when Sugar responded by resting her head against her outstretched hand. It struck Ginger as more than just two senior gals saying hello to one another; it was a moment of connection.

Sugar is a pet who could have easily been at risk of being killed in a shelter, especially if that shelter were already full and struggling to save younger dogs and cats. Best Friends’ goal is for all shelters to reach no-kill in 2025, and that means working together with other animal welfare organizations to save pets’ lives, giving each one what they need to move out of the shelter and into a happy new life. And Sugar was on her way to her second chance.

Ginger is 78 years old and a regular Best Friends volunteer. She comes every Tuesday to tidy up the cat rooms and love on as many cats as possible. Ginger’s calico cat of many years, Jessie, recently passed away, and her house felt empty. Lonely.

So she was looking to adopt another cat — specifically a senior cat, as she found their energy level to be a good fit for her. “If you have love to give and the animal has love to give, that’s what matters,” says Ginger. There would be no replacing Jessie, she knew. But she had love to give, and giving it to another cat would be its own separate joy.

[Faces of No-Kill: Shy senior cat gets a chance to shine]

A couple of days after Ginger and Sugar’s first encounter, Best Friends caregiver Orsi Bandi had Sugar in a room for some special one-on-one time to help her overcome her shyness and learn more about her personality. Orsi noticed that Sugar didn’t seem very interested in toys, so she moved on to a different activity that she discovered Sugar was all about: being held and loved on.

Ginger was finishing her volunteer shift when she saw Orsi holding Sugar. Touched by how thoughtfully Orsi cared for Sugar, and how Sugar seemed to need some extra help to feel comfortable, Ginger took a picture of Sugar in Orsi’s arms and sent it to her boyfriend, Bill, along with a text: Should I bring Sugar home? He replied that he trusted her judgment. (And we all know what that means.)

The next day, Ginger returned to Best Friends to adopt Sugar. Orsi knew Ginger was the person for Sugar. “Ginger is so knowledgeable about cats,” says Orsi. “She knew she would need to give Sugar time and space along with love and affection to feel secure and open up.”

Ginger had cleaned out and lined her closet with blankets so that Sugar would have a haven to cozy up in if she felt scared. And Sugar did bury herself in those blankets for the first few days. But it didn’t take her too long to warm up.

Soon, any room Ginger was in, Sugar was in, too. Ginger and Bill discovered that Sugar loves belly rubs — so much so that they have begun to suspect she is part dog. Sugar asks for belly rubs on tabletops, on the couch, anywhere and everywhere and all the time.

[Shy senior cat finds a home where she’s in good company]

They also discovered that Sugar does like toys, particularly a cloth wand, and that she’s wild for a catnip ball. They found that she can be fairly demanding when, at 6:30 in the morning, she wants breakfast. She rattles the mini blinds in the bedroom until Ginger rises and pulls the blinds up out of reach. Then Sugar moves into the next room and bangs on those blinds, and so on, until Ginger is up.

Ginger has loved getting to know Sugar’s personality, figuring out what makes her engage and what she prefers — even if that means acknowledging that Sugar prefers belly rubs from her boyfriend over her. Sugar gravitates toward Bill. When she wants cuddles, she seeks him out. At night, when Bill and Ginger watch TV, Sugar approaches the ottoman, where Bill’s feet are resting. He removes them in an invitation. She jumps up and gazes at him with open affection. When they go to bed, Sugar sleeps next to his head.

During the day, Sugar sleeps in every room in various places and poses. Ginger has a million pictures of her sleeping, happy and relaxed, and of her looking like a movie star with her paws crossed in front of her. She calls Sugar her big floof, her baby. The house no longer feels empty.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.