Heartbroken Cat Left Behind As His Owners Sell Their Virginia Home And Move Away

What you’re about to read is a heart-wrenching tale of Valentino, a gorgeous Ragdoll cat who was left stranded outside his home when his family packed up and moved away.

With no regard for his well-being, his former owners abandoned him, leaving him to struggle on his own.

Lost and terrified, Valentino wandered the streets of his neighborhood, moving from one house to the next, desperately hoping to find someone kind enough to offer him a safe haven.

One day, experienced foster mom Debbie Harris got a call from her coworker, asking if she could take in a homeless cat from the neighborhood.

According to her coworker, she had been feeding the poor fluff whose owners had sold their home and moved away without him. 

Though the woman wanted to adopt him herself, her husband had severe cat allergies, so all she could do was offer him temporary shelter in her garage and reach out to the one person she knew could help – Debbie.

Unable to turn down such an urgent request, Debbie immediately agreed to help, which is how she came to meet Valentino!

It took Debbie one look to completely fall in love with her new foster furbaby. She posted a photo of Valentino on her Instagram profile sharing with her followers the joy of meeting such a magnificent ball of white fluff. 

In the caption, she wrote:

“Its temperament is very sweet and docile, and it is confidently walking around like it owns the place already. (…) I am still not sure if it’s a male or female yet. I tried to peak, but it was like parting the Red Sea or something. And, our relationship hasn’t progressed that far yet. I’ll wait and try again later today.”

As with all of her foster cats, Debbie scheduled a vet appointment for Valentino to assess his health, determine his age and gender, and make sure he was in good condition

According to a post on Instagram, Valentino was an absolute sweetheart at the vet. In Debbie’s words, he was calm and well-mannered, greeting everyone and rubbing up against them, purring his way straight into their hearts.

The vet confirmed that Valentino was a 12-pound male Ragdoll cat, estimated to be around 2 to 3 years old.

Aside from a minor upper respiratory infection (URI), for which he was given antibiotics, Valentino was in great shape. His blood tests came back negative for feline diseases, and he received his rabies vaccination.

The vet also trimmed off four large mats to give Valentino some relief until he could be professionally groomed.

In less than a month, Valentino completely recovered from his URI, which made Debbie extremely happy. She wrote on her Instagram:

“What a complete love bug Valentino is. He sure is mellow and friendly, and is definitely living up to the Ragdoll reputation. He is finished with his medication and has fully recovered from his upper respiratory infection. I took him back to my vet for his distemper vaccination, and he got a clean bill of health. So he earned a spa day!”

Debbie also couldn’t help but brag about how well Valentino behaved at the groomer’s. She mentioned how the groomer absolutely adored him and even asked if she could adopt him.

Debbie kindly told her that she already had a long list of potential adopters, though no final decision had been made yet.

However, she couldn’t help but wonder if this adorable ball of white fluff might just be her new “foster fail…”

For those who aren’t familiar, a foster fail is when someone takes in a pet with the intention of offering it a temporary home, but ends up falling so in love with the animal that they decide to adopt it permanently.

And that’s exactly what happened with Debbie! After spending time with Valentino, she realized she just couldn’t let him go.

She made the decision to turn her foster situation into a forever one and offer Valentino all the love he truly deserved!

Before adopting Valentino, Debbie had already experienced two foster fails, Jojo and Lil Man.

After a bit of an awkward adjustment period, the three cats quickly found their rhythm. They sorted out the important details, like who’s in charge in the house.

It was decided that Valentino and Lil Man were best friends for life, while Jojo occasionally popped in to supervise the boys and ensure they weren’t causing too much trouble.

I’m so happy that Valentino found his forever home. After the heartache of being abandoned, he truly deserved someone like Debbie to restore his faith in love and humanity.

She’s done an amazing job, and it’s clear Valentino is right where he belongs.