Faces of No-Kill: Buddy the cat

Ann and Mike Butchello had entered a new chapter in life. Their beloved 18-year-old cat, Fluffy, had passed away. And they decided that, with the traveling they planned to do, they weren’t ready to adopt a new cat. Instead, they chose to foster cats from Best Friends in Houston between trips.

“If we were between travels, we could take a cat for a short time, even if only a week, to give them love and socialization,” Ann says.

Of course, anybody who fosters knows that it’s often tough not to “foster win” (i.e., adopt your foster pet), so you can probably guess where this story is going. Along came a very special cat named Buddy, who needed a foster home.

In Houston, Petco Love hosts an annual pet adoption weekend event that Best Friends co-sponsors. Dozens of shelters and rescue groups bring animals who are available to adopt. During the 2025 event, nearly 1,000 animals went home.

Best Friends took in pets from the shelters and rescue groups who didn’t meet their matches that weekend, and among them was Buddy. The 5-year-old feline was gentle and affectionate. He also had feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), which can weaken a cat’s immune system and make them more susceptible to illnesses.

Cats with FIV can take a little longer to place in new homes, but that’s often because FIV is misunderstood. Cats who have the virus can live good, long lives, even though there’s no cure for the virus. All they need is some extra monitoring to watch for infections.

The matchmaker and the cat with FIV

“You’re more likely to get a cold if you have a suppressed immune system, but it’s not a guarantee that you’ll get a cold,” says Valentina Costa, a Best Friends staff person in Houston.

Cats with FIV can also live with cats who don’t have FIV as long as they have a friendly relationship. “Transmission of FIV happens not by sharing bowls or space but through deep bite wounds,” Valentina says.

Ann and Mike had already fostered a cat with FIV, who coincidentally came to Best Friends from the 2024 Petco Love adoption event. So the team knew whom to call when they were looking to place Buddy with a foster family.

After caring for more than 10 foster cats before him, along came Buddy, who lived up to his name right from the start. “As soon as we saw him at Best Friends, he greeted us with purrs and immediately wanted us to pet him,” Ann says.

Ann and Mike had no intention of adopting Buddy, but it was clear within the first week that he was different. “He’s this friendly, easygoing guy who walked into our house, looked around, and plopped down as if he’d lived here his whole life,” Ann says. “He was auditioning for our hearts, and he nailed it.” They adopted him within three weeks of bringing him home.

6 pet foster-win stories

Since then, not only has Buddy continued to thrive in his new home, but Ann and Mike have continued to take in new foster cats.

If there’s one thing Mike wishes, it’s that more people understood what having a cat with FIV really means. “With care and love, these cats can live like any other cat,” he says.

That’s certainly the case for Buddy, who’s now enjoying the good life. What’s more, he’s soon to be a well-traveled cat. While Ann and Mike use a cat sitter when they go on short trips, they’re planning to take Buddy with them on a month-long adventure this summer. Send us a postcard, Buddy!

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.