7 min read Shelter Threw A Birthday Party For This Cat — But No One Came She just wants a family to love her 💔😭

The average time a cat usually spends at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is 23 days. Monique has been there for 121 days. The 2-year-old cat is incredibly playful and social, but has been struggling to get adopted because she has feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). The condition is easily managed, but it does mean that she can’t live with most other cats. Monique is a very curious, active cat and would love to have an outdoor space to explore as well, but her new yard would need to be enclosed so that no other cats could find their way in and potentially catch FIV. These conditions have caused people to be hesitant about adopting Monique, so she’s still sitting at the shelter, waiting for someone to pick her.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

“Monique is a really sweet and affectionate young cat,” Nikki Cummins, a communications officer with Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, told The Dodo. “When she first arrived at Battersea, she was a little shy and took time to come out of her shell but once she got to know the people around her, her personality shone through and she’s always happy to see us.” Everyone at the shelter adores Monique and would love to see her finally find her forever home — so they came up with an idea to try and help get her adopted.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

“Monique’s birthday falls on Valentine’s Day so it seemed like an ideal time to celebrate one of our cats,” Cummins said. “What better time for people to consider bringing extra love into their life than Valentine’s Day? We get a lot of visitors to our cattery, many of which are considering adopting a cat and are there to find out more about how to do that and see some of our cats. Staff hoped the decorations would draw everyone to the birthday girl and entice them to ask about what kind of home she was looking for and in an ideal world, offer to take her home.”

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

It seemed like the perfect idea, and everyone sprang into action to make it happen. On the day of the party, everything was ready. The decorations were in place and the birthday girl was front and center. Everyone crossed their fingers and held their breath, hoping that this would finally be the day Monique found her forever home. But not one person showed up to Monique’s birthday party.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

After all the hope they’d had that the party would be a success, everyone was pretty disappointed — but sweet Monique, as usual, remained in high spirits. “We were disappointed that Monique’s birthday didn’t attract any potential new owners but our staff and volunteers were of course more than happy to pop in to give the birthday girl a bit of a fuss — she got a LOT of cheek rubs that day,” Cummins said.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

Even though the party didn’t work out, everyone at the shelter knows that Monique’s perfect forever home is out there somewhere. In the meantime, she’ll continue to get so much love from the shelter staff. “Monique is blissfully unaware of her newfound fame and is seemingly content,” Cummins said. “Although she would love to be in a home of her own, she slowly settled into life at the cattery and is enjoys spending quality time with our staff and volunteers as well as sitting on her perch to keep an eye on everything going on around her.”

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

Monique would do best in a home with no other dogs or cats, and that has an enclosed yard where she can play and explore. She needs a family who understands she may need a little time to settle in at first, and therefore she can live with kids as long as they understand how to give her the space she needs. Other than that, Monique just wants to be loved, and has so much love to give in return.