Sammy: 19-year-old cat adopted after animal shelter birthday party went viral

An animal shelter in Ohio in the US threw a very special birthday party for an old moggy in its care.

19-year-old Sammy was treated to a celebration with his human friends who decorated his cage and provided plenty of cat food.

The shelter posted pictures of the occasion on Facebook and the very next day Sammy received the ultimate birthday gift... he was adopted!

Happy Birthday Sammy!

Staff at Cincinnati Animal CARE realised that Sammy would be turning 19 while at the shelter so they decided to mark the special occasion.

They posted pictures of Sammy wearing a special hat and bow onto their Facebook page with the caption: "Happy birthday to this beautiful fella who would love a nice, quiet home to live out his golden years! The only rule for adopting Sammy though? You have to throw him a 20th birthday party on 6/15/22!"

A spokesperson for the shelter, Ray Anderson, told HuffPost: "Sammy is just amazingly sweet" and "likes to cuddle, likes to be held, likes to rest his head on you and was definitely soaking up all the attention today.

"He's a very agreeable cat, as I'm sure you can tell with his spectacular hat he got to wear today. He's very observant and likes to just sit and watch what's going on.

"We'd encourage anyone whose heart is warmed by Sammy's birthday party to adopt from their local animal shelter - they all need you right now," he added.

Sammy came to the shelter after his previous owner had to go into assisted living and was unable to take Sammy with them.

The incredibly cute senior cat was adopted the day after his birthday and was even "spoiled with a new hat!".

One of Sammy's new owners posted on TikTok showing the cat settling into his new home and sleeping in his new bed.

The owner said he had had a health check, ears cleaned, and nails trimmed.

We hope you enjoy your comfy new home, Sammy!