"I was going through my news feed when I saw '26' and it stopped me in my tracks," Cassiday explained to The Dodo. "I'd never heard of a cat that old." It was a spur-of-the-moment decision; I said they could stop looking and I'd take him, and we phoned the shelter to say AARF would pick him up. The next morning, I took him."

Cassiday, however, chose to keep Thomas instead of placing him for adорtion via AARF. She didn't want him to have to wait for a home when he might not have much time left, so she decided to be his "fospice" mom, which means she will care for him for the remainder of his life.