This story has been shared as part of the Fur Fam Story Contest. Submissions were accepted through December 5th. Voting will run from December 6th through December 31st. Three grand prize winners will receive a $500 prize, plus $2000 in cash and supplies for their favorite shelter. See all the stories here!

It was May 2014 and our family was poorer for having lost 18-year-old Howard just a month earlier and 16-year-old Kipling the previous year. It was far too soon to adopt another cat. However, my friend Susan was volunteering for a shelter in Oyster Bay, New York, and heard that the shelter would receive $1,000 per cat adopted from a generous donor over just a two-day period, coming up soon. Suddenly it no longer seemed premature to adopt.

We drove out to the shelter and soon zeroed in on 7-month-old Flynn, a strawberry-blond domestic longhair, and 11-week-old Fiona, an orange tabby domestic shorthair. We put them in a room together to see how they would get along, and the rest is history. (You can judge for yourself.)

PHOTO: BENJAMIN WEIL

When we got home to Manhattan, we released the two new cats into the large, open loft space we lived in. They immediately made themselves at home and never showed any signs of intimidation. They were also champion carrier-riders on the frequent trips back and forth from our weekend house in rural upstate New York.

We counted that they met a total of 42 new people during their first month with us, including a family of nine who came by for a few minutes. Flynn and Fiona never hid, never showed any fear, and won over every human heart, including some self-professed "non-cat people."

Seven and a half years later (including a year and a half of COVID), we can't imagine our little family without its furriest members. They show up on Zoom calls for work (which helps introduce a little levity into the virtual environment), love all of their cat-sitters (who vie with each other to see who "gets" to take care of Flynn and Fiona), and sleep next to or on our pillows every night.

PHOTO: BENJAMIN WEIL

The biggest gift is that these affectionate, sociable pets were not only free, but simply adopting the two best cats in the world won $2,000 for the best cat shelter in the world!

This story was submitted by Benjamin Weil, in support of Little Victories Animal Rescue Group, Inc. To see other Fur Fam Story Contest submissions, click here!