A cat owner recently went viral after stumbling upon information about her cat's former life, and internet users can't cope.
On February 1, Krista Lecuyer, 33, from Ontario, Canada, posted a video showing her cat Ginny's "shelter mugshot" from before she adopted her.
"When you stumble upon your pet's shelter mugshot and remember they had a life before they met you," said text overlaid on the video, posted under the TikTok account @hernameisginny.
"Gin spent some time in the shelter back in 2013 before her previous owner adopted her. It's wild to think she lived an entire life before that we know nothing about," the video's caption said.
The second half of the seven-second clip shows the feline, who is 16, boasting the same troublemaker face as she did back when the photo was first taken.
Lecuyer told Newsweek that she rescued a 13-year-old Ginny from an elderly woman who was too ill to care for her.
"Before that, she was in a shelter, and this woman rescued her and lived alone with her for many years. She is a sweetheart and has a brother BamBam and two kids in her family," she said.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), 3.2 million cats enter U.S. shelters every year. On its website, the ASPCA said that while most of the cats are rehomed or returned to their original owners, about 530,000 shelter cats are euthanized.
Shelters are overwhelmed by the number of cats and dogs in their care, and while the number of animals in shelters is decreasing slightly thanks to people choosing to adopt, the problem is still far from over.
Adopting saves lives, and so does fostering. When you foster a pet, you agree to give them a safe place to live until they find a new home. This may help take the pressure off an overcrowded shelter and save animals from euthanasia.
To volunteer as a foster pet carer, you can contact your local shelters or check the ASPCA website for guidance.
Lecuyer's video quickly went viral on social media, receiving more than 2.1 million views and 455,000 likes on TikTok.
One viewer commented, "Hahahahah his little angry face is so freakin cute."
"I can't look at my cat's shelter pics cause I genuinely cry," another wrote.
A commenter added, "My cat was a rescue and I always wonder what she went through before we got her."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our "Pet of the Week" lineup.
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