An older cat with medical issues found himself at a shelter after his beloved owner sadly passed away—but with the help of rescue workers and his foster parents, he began to flourish.
Tuxedo cat Zorro has become an online sensation after his former shelter, Cat Town, shared a video of him being the perfect patient while being treated for asthma.
Cat Town specializes in helping cats who “might struggle to get adopted from a shelter cage,” staff member Quinn White told Newsweek. And eight-year-old Zorro, who has feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), dental issues, calicivirus and asthma, fell into this category.
Despite these issues, White described Zorro as an “absolute dreamboat” who “flops down on the floor right by your feet and looks up expectantly when he wants you to pet him.”
Now a clip shared to Cat Town’s TikTok account, @cattownoak, has seen hundreds of thousands of people fall in love with Zorro, as he patiently took his asthma inhaler.
@cattownoak Zorro, the dashing tuxedo cat who rocks his inhaler routine, has officially been adopted! 🎉 Congrats, Zorro! 🖤🤍 #catadoption #adoptdontshop #catrescue #catcafe #cattown #cattownoak #cattownoakland #oakland #asthma
Posted on September 26 and already boasting more than one million likes, the clip shows Zorro sitting on the floor looking up at his fosterer, who brings a small hand-held inhaler to his face.
Without a second thought, Zorro places his face inside the mask, and sits perfectly still as his foster parent slowly counts to five. When it’s all done, he’s immediately given some treats, and, knowing the drill, Zorro rushes straight to his bowl.
Praising his foster carers for going “so above and beyond” for Zorro, White explained the rescue sent medication and information on training a cat to use an inhaler when these fosterers first took Zorro into their care.
“His love for treats really helped with this, and it only took him about two weeks to learn the routine: they started with a treat in a bowl, using smaller and smaller bowls until he graduated to the face mask,” she explained.
Zorro’s foster owners proved the perfect carers for him in more ways than one, as after getting to know the cat and perfecting his routine, they decided to adopt him.
Cat Town was overjoyed by the enormous reaction to Zorro’s video, with Quinn telling Newsweek: “We’ve seen comments saying that he can help inspire children with asthma, that he’s helping people whose cats have asthma learn they can make the whole process less stressful, and of course folks recognize that he’s absolutely precious.
