Cathleen and Brian had an instant connection— and found out their cats did, too!

Making good on a promise to her six-year-old daughter, Cathleen Cavin adopted a kitten—and fell in love. They never forgot the other kitten they’d had to leave behind in the shelter, though. But love, they’d learn, always makes sure things work out!

Wandering through the Petaluma, California, animal shelter, Cathleen Cavin smiled as her six-year-old daughter cooed to cat after cat.

After her divorce, Cathleen had promised Cali they could adopt a kitten once they were settled into their new apartment. But there were so many playful, adorable kitties. How could they choose?

Then Cali stopped at a pen where two tiny brothers were snuggling so close, she couldn’t tell where one’s orange-and-white fur ended and the other’s began.

“Oh, Mommy, can I have them both, pleeeease?” Cali beamed.

Though her heart ached at the idea of separating the brothers, Cathleen gently explained there was a “one pet only” rule at their new apartment.

Cali nodded, eventually making the difficult choice to take “Ozzy,” since he seemed most comfortable in her lap.

Still, as they drove home, Cathleen and Cali sent up a wish: Please let his brother find a forever home, too . . .

New beginnings

Inthe days that followed, Cali showered Ozzy with love, dancing around the room until the kitty curled up, falling asleep beside her.

Sometimes, though, Cali would ask, “Do you think Ozzy misses his brother?”

Cathleen hadn’t stopped thinking of Ozzy’s brother herself. She even promised to talk to her landlord. But when she called the shelter, she learned he’d been adopted.

“That’s a good thing,” Cathleen and Cali nodded, hoping that he was as loved as their Ozzy.

Over the next months, Cathleen sometimes still wondered about his whereabouts. “Do you think they’ll ever see each other again?” Cali would ask.

It sounded crazy. But stranger things have happened. And Cali was just a little girl. She deserved to believe in happy endings, Cathleen thought. “Maybe someday,” she’d say. Then one day a friend of Cathleen’s remarked, “You’re a wonderful mom. But don’t you miss having someone special in your life?” Cathleen’s life was full with Cali, Ozzy and work as an executive assistant. But she had to admit she did. And so, Cathleen signed up for Tinder, a dating app. Of the matches suggested, one immediately captured her interest: Brian Herrera, a widower who also had a daughter about Cali’s age.

Hi, Cathleen messaged. And, before long, they were talking by phone—and discovering they had a ton more things in common!

“I used to live in that town!” Cathleen marveled. Born the same year, their birthdays were just two months apart. And the wife of Brian’s boss owned the daycare that Cali attended!

Finally, they agreed to a date and arranged to meet at a restaurant. When Cathleen walked in—spotting Brian at the same table where she and Cali always sat—their eyes met and she instantly felt a spark.

For Brian, it was “love at first sight. She was gorgeous, her face and smile so genuine,” he recalls. Even more, when Cathleen sat down, they got so caught up in conversation that they kept forgetting to order!

Afterward, not wanting the night to end, they went to Brian’s house where they sat, talking and listening to music.

It was there that Cathleen glimpsed an orange-and-white cat. Startled by the resemblance, she jumped up. “Ozzy!” she cried. Baffled by her reaction, Brian shook his head.

“That’s Butter,” he said, explaining his late wife had adopted the kitty a couple years earlier for their daughter, Ruby.

“He looks exactly like my cat,” Cathleen murmured as she petted Butter and looked him over, tip to tail. He really could be Ozzy’s twin brother! she thought.

And then it struck her: Could he be?

Paw-sitive reunion

Youhave to come meet my Ozzy,” Cathleen said. So the next day, Brian visited Cathleen.

“They really are identical!” he marveled. And, following their hunch, they decided to check the shelter adoption papers, which confirmed it: Ozzy and Butter were long-lost brothers!

“Mommy, you found Ozzy’s brother!” Cali exclaimed when Cathleen told her. And when the furry brothers were reunited, they could tell they remembered each other: Instead of hissing, fighting or ignoring each other as many new male cats do when introduced, Ozzy and Butter rolled and pranced around, playing together for two hours!

In time, Cathleen and Brian grew closer, too. And today, the blended family lives under one roof where Cali, Ruby, Ozzy and Butter all play together.

“This was just unbelievable fate—the way Brian and I are together now, and the way the cat brothers are together again,” Cathleen says with a smile. “Our story proves love is always meant to be. And that animals can truly change your life for the better!”

Behind every great person is a cat” great ANONYMOUS