For tiny tabbies Blair and Garrett, the road to adoption was not always easy. The young siblings were rescued as strays and spent nearly two years bouncing from home to home, partially because big brother Garrett’s rambunctious personality was more than most adopters could handle. But through it all, his sister stuck by his side, and now these sweet cats are living the good life together in a loving home. Here is their Happy Tail.

Blair and Garrett first arrived at the ASPCA in October 2013. Just tiny kittens at the time, they were quickly adopted into a home where they stayed for nearly two years. In January 2015, however, the adopter was forced to return them when she moved to a place that did not allow pets. 

In the time since we had seen them last, Blair and Garrett had grown into friendly, social cats, but they were reliant on one another and needed to find a new home where they could stay together. We were thrilled to see them adopted in February—only to be dismayed by their return three days later. Then they were adopted a third time and brought back after five days. In both instances, the adopters reported that Blair was calm and sweet while Garrett was prone to boyish antics and loud vocalizations. We began to worry, but then, almost as if on cue, Sally F. walked through our door.

After losing her cat, Pablo, in January, Sally was bereft. “I thought it would be good to take a break—to live without the litter dust and those pre-dawn wake-up meows,” she says, “but I was totally miserable.” Missing the companionship of a feline, she and her boyfriend decided to stop by the ASPCA Adoption Center while running errands on Valentine’s Day.

Sally swore that it would just be a quick visit, but her plans went out the window the moment she met Blair and Garrett. “I thought they were beautiful, friendly and sweet,” she says. “Having planned to just ‘look’ at adoptable cats that day, I somehow walked out with two!”

Sally renamed the siblings Penny and Scooter, and in an email update a few months later, she wrote: “For the first few days, I couldn’t imagine how anyone could ever return such perfect cats. They were social, affectionate and lots of fun. Then Scooter’s mischeiv0o9==============.” 

Scooter had stepped on the keyboard just Sally wrote that his “mischievous side came out.”

Yes, true to his reputation, Scooter was up to his old tricks. Sally told us that he had rearranged the art on her walls and thought everything in her home was a toy. “He was an active little boy who didn’t like me to get more than two hours of sleep at a time,” she says, “but luckily, I had fallen in love with them so I knew there was no way they were going back.” 

Sally’s patience (and a little bit of redecorating) paid off, as Scooter soon settled down and relaxed into his new life. “He’s so much better now,” she says. “Scooter and Penny are so sweet and loving, and I can’t stop taking pictures of them snuggling together.”

Though it took multiple attempts, this brother and sister are finally happy and safe in a loving home. In closing, Sally tells us, “You can rest assured that this adoption is going to stick. They’re here forever.”