Mitzi is an adorable cat who wants what any other cat wants: a loving forever home.

She is an 8 year-old stray cat who was first brought to the Woodside Animal Sanctuary in Plymouth, Devon in May of 2017. Much to the surprise of shelter workers, Mitzi weighed 17 pounds at the time, making her very overweight. They had no idea how a stray got so big, guessing that it must be because so many people were feeding her.

“Like all cats it seems she was very successful at adopting people,” said shelter manager Helen Lecointe. “No-one owned her but everyone was feeding her.”

The shelter posted a photo of Mitzi to Facebook along with the caption, “Mitzi, the fattest cat we have ever had in? ……Probably!”

The photo immediately went viral, with the British press dubbing Mitzi “Britain’s fattest stray cat.”

The shelter was inundated with offers to adopt Mitzi from people from all over the world. They wanted to find someone local to adopt the cat because it would be less stressful for Mitzi not to have to travel.

Finally, the shelter found someone to adopt Mitzi, and she went to live in the person’s home. Unfortunately, the owner had a change of circumstances, and Mitzi was sent back to the shelter. She was soon adopted again, but her second owner got sick and sent her back to the facility.

“It’s very unusual for a cat to be returned this many times but sadly she’s just been so unlucky,” Lecointe said.

Mitzi then went to live with a third owner, who she dearly loved. During her time with this owner, Mitzi dropped from 17 to 11 pounds. Sadly, the third owner passed away last August, and Mitzi found herself back at the shelter.

Finally, last month, a family member of the third owner contacted the shelter and asked to adopt Mitzi. The person explained that they had wanted to adopt Mitzi after the owner died, but they were not able to because they lived in a rented house.

“We had offers from the U.S., Sweden and the Middle East, but we’re so pleased that we’ve found an owner who already knows her and loves her,” Lecointe said.

Mitzi is planning to move in with this relative next month when they get a new house.

“She’s such a sweet cat,” Lecointe said. “We really hope she’s found her fairytale ending.”

After all that she’s been through, we hope that Mitzi has finally found the forever home that she deserves!