Faces of No-Kill: A love match for an extra-special cat

With her snowy white fur, ocean eyes, and a cute little bobbed tail, Zima is used to turning heads. People often stopped to admire her stunning face when they visited Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. And with her stunning looks, she caught the eye of two special people — who both loved her beauty and were ready to embrace her and her special needs.

Zima is incontinent, which means she relies on people to help her go to the bathroom. But that didn’t faze Tyler Jordan and Parker Janetzke when they discovered her adoption profile on the Best Friends website.

“I’d seen her on there for a while,” Tyler recalls. “She’s gorgeous. Why wouldn’t people want to adopt her? Then I realized most people didn’t want to take on a cat who’s incontinent. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew it was something I’d be willing to do. If I could make a difference in her life, I felt like it was my responsibility.”

Determined to learn, the couple traveled to the Sanctuary. Caregivers began teaching Tyler and Parker how to empty Zima’s bladder and bowels.

To build their skills, Tyler and Parker made the hour-and-a-half drive from their home to the Sanctuary once a week for six weeks. Once Tyler felt confident, he helped teach Parker, too. “I’m proud of the progress I’ve made,” Tyler says. “I can do it better and faster than I thought I would, and I’m really happy about that.”

On one of their final visits, Tyler and Parker took Zima for a sleepover at the Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile. She curled up beside them the whole night, as if she already knew she was with her family. The next day, they made it official and brought her home.

[Learn more about adoptable cats at Best Friends]

“Every adoption is special, but anytime you can get a cat who’s incontinent adopted is a super special adoption,” says Mike Bzdewka, one of Zima’s caregivers at the Sanctuary. “When people are willing to put in the miles to do it right, it means everything.”

Now, Zima rules the roost in a household she shares with one dog and two other cats. Tyler and Parker often find her lounging on their bed, resting her floofy little head on her paws and staring up at them with those mesmerizing, cerulean eyes.

[Fierce love for an incontinent cat]

“She’s curious and has been purring, making biscuits, and taking naps,” says Tyler. “She doesn’t seem bothered by the other pets and has already tried to make friends with our other cat Sumo. She loves to explore the house, hide under pillows, and take sips of water from the sink.”

For both Tyler and Parker, the true reward is knowing their extra effort gave Zima the home she deserved. “Of course the animals are loved and cared for at the Sanctuary,” Parker says. “But they’re always going to do better in somebody’s home. We had the opportunity to give her that, and we couldn’t be happier.”

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.