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Monday Cute: 103-Year-Old Woman Receives Abandoned Cat on Birthday

sleeping cat

No matter how old we get there will always be a desire for companionship.

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On her 103rd birthday, Lillian Grant received the gift of a new furry companion, an orphaned cat named Marley. Last year, her beloved cat, Sammy, passed away and when she was asked by the administrator of her assisted living home what she would like for her birthday she said, “A sweet cat like Sammy,” according to TODAY.

The administrator, Debbie Presland decided to enlist the help of her brother, Joseph Harradine, who is an animal services officer at St. George Animal Shelter, to find Grant a new kitty companion.

That’s when they found Marley.

Marley is a 9-year-old cat whose previous owner was forced to give her up when she moved into an assisted living facility that didn’t allow pets.

Marley and Lillian took to each other right away and there are delightful pictures of the two together, looking like two best buddies. “The cat just took to her immediately,” Presland told TODAY.

“I don’t think she quite understood that she was getting the cat, that it was going to be hers,” Harradine said, Lilian assumed Marley was just visiting for her party. “Debbie leaned over and said, ‘This is going to be your cat now,’ and (Grant’s) eyes kind of squinted and it almost looked like she was crying.”

The shelter that allowed Marley to be adopted also wanted to ensure that the cat would be ensured a home for the rest of his life, so in the event that something were to happen to Grant and she couldn’t take care of Marley anymore, Presland has agreed to step up as the cat’s owner.

Until then, Marley and Lilian are on a friendship journey together.

(via TODAY,  image: Photo by Fabricio Trujillo from Pexels)

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Princess Weekes
Princess (she/her-bisexual) is a Brooklyn born Megan Fox truther, who loves Sailor Moon, mythology, and diversity within sci-fi/fantasy. Still lives in Brooklyn with her over 500 Pokémon that she has Eevee trained into a mighty army. Team Zutara forever.

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