The Cat Distribution System Delivered Exactly What This Norfolk Teen Wanted

Even a mom who has put her foot down can’t argue with the Cat Distribution System. That fact has made a Norfolk teenager very happy as she finally has the cat she has always wanted.

Savannah Thomas cuddling with her new bestie, Mocha.

For years, Savannah Thomas has asked her mom, Connie, for a cat, but keeping busy with Savannah’s and her brother Dakota’s schooling, along with extracurricular and church activities, Connie felt the family, which also includes dad, Ronnie, just didn’t have time to properly care for a pet.

As the years went by, Savannah kept hoping for a cat, and one day hope showed up at her door in the form of a tortoiseshell beauty.

“Back in March, she was at the back door when we got home from Wednesday night service,” Connie recalled. “I thought she’d run away, but she just walked in.”

Connie thought it would be a short-term stay. Savannah, of course, hoped otherwise.

The next day, they brought the cat to Norfolk Animal Care to check for a chip, but there was none. They filled out a lost pet form and were told to hold onto her for five days to see if anyone came forward. No one did.

Savannah was thrilled, but mom still wasn’t convinced this was a forever thing. That changed when the cat, now named Mocha, became very ill.

“I took her to the vet and nursed her back to health,” said Connie. “She officially became ours after that, because I knew I couldn’t just drop her off (at the shelter), or I’d never hear the end of it from Savannah.”

These days, Connie still says Mocha is Savannah's cat, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Somewhere between vet visits, daily care, and finding her phone filling up with pictures of the little tortie, Mocha seems to have worked her way into Connie’s heart just as thoroughly as she did Savannah's.

That's the Cat Distribution System at work. Well done, Mocha.

Mocha living her best life in the house she selected. (Photos courtesy of Thomas family)