Shelter Cat Wears Cute Outfit Each Day in Hope of Finding Forever Family

A shelter cat in Arizona has taken to wearing new cute outfits every day in hopes of finding a new family.

Staff at Whiskers 'N' Wishes Sanctuary in Tucson, Arizona, have taken a new approach with Paul, 3, as he strives to find a new home.

Every day Paul gets dressed in new outfits, ranging from a Sunday vest to a banana hat and fancy ties and the shelter posts the pictures online.

But it was a September 18 post shared on X, formerly Twitter, that attracted a lot of attention for Paul online.

The post said: "Paul dressed up in his Sunday vest today, but unfortunately did not find his forever home."

In the picture, Paul could be seen looking at the camera while wearing his fancy bow tie. Since being shared, the post has attracted around 2.4 million views on X.

Each year, 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet Shelter Watch Report found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

Whiskers 'N' Wishes Sanctuary founder Emily Shields told Newsweek Paul would prefer to live either as the only cat in the home, with female cats or in certain circumstances other male cats.

She also confirmed Paul has the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV+), which is a common infectious disease in cats around the world.

Shields added: "If you stop petting him, he will grab your hand and put it back on his face. He is FIV+, but that shouldn't affect his lifespan or his ability to be with other cats.

"He is so silly, playful, talkative, and loving. Because he's so big and intimidating he would do best in a home with female cats or submissive males. He would also be fine by himself."

According to the Cornell Feline Health Center: "In infected cats, FIV attacks the immune system, leaving the cat vulnerable to many other infections.

"Although cats infected with FIV may appear normal for years, they eventually suffer from immune deficiency, which allows normally harmless bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi found in the everyday environment to potentially cause severe illnesses.

"Though there is no cure for FIV, recent studies suggest that cats with FIV commonly live average life spans, as long as they are not also infected with feline leukemia virus."

Do you have any sweet videos or pictures of your rescue pet that 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.