From age to color to personality, there are a lot of factors that might go into a choosing a new pet. And though we try to find the best animal for every adopter, we can’t always guarantee an exact match. So when Wendy and Jamie A. came to the ASPCA Adoption Center with not one, but two, certain types of kitties in mind, we never dreamed that they would get quite this lucky! Here is the story of how this happy couple created two Happy Tails for cats named Bronte and Macaroni.

Bronte and Macaroni are about as different as their names suggest. Macaroni, a three-pound, five-month-old kitten, came to the ASPCA when she was just four weeks old. She had been rescued from a hoarding situation and she was timid, shy and fearful of strangers. In addition, the tiny kitty suffered from a severe eye infection that left a white scar across her cornea and blindness in one eye.

Bronte, on the other hand, was five years old when she was rescued by the ASPCA. Also saved from a hoarding situation, she was wary of strangers but had a distinctly social side to her personality. Though they were at the ASPCA Adoption Center at the same time, the two kitties were in different parts of the facility and had never met—until Jamie and Wendy showed up early in September.

After losing their beloved 18-year-old rescue kitty, Elspeth, Jamie and Wendy were heartbroken. Though they knew he could never be replaced, their house didn’t feel like a “home” without cats. Wendy recalls, “We had too much love to give and we knew there were too many kitties out there in need of love.” The couple agreed that it was time to adopt again, but they were torn on what they wanted. Wendy hoped for an older, black cat, stating, “I knew that they were harder to adopt out.” Jamie, on the other hand, was hoping for a special-needs kitten that would remind him of his best friend of 18 years, Elspeth. They decided to head to the ASPCA Adoption Center to take a look around.

Wendy remembers her first meeting with Bronte at the Adoption Center very vividly. “I sat on the floor in the front area and she came over and rubbed against me right away. Not only was she a beautiful, shiny, five-year-old black cat, but I noticed that the tip of one ear was missing. This imperfection made me love her all the more!”

Meanwhile, in a different part of the Adoption Center, Jamie met Macaroni. “The only kitten to reach out to him just happened to be the same coloring (gray and white) as Elspeth,” Wendy recalls. “Macaroni was also blind in one eye. Jamie was smitten with this kitten right away!”

Having found the older black cat and special-needs kitten they were hoping for, the couple decided to adopt both that same day. They changed Bronte’s name to “Maya” and Macaroni’s to “Gelsomina,” and headed home to begin their new life as a foursome.

Back at home, Maya and Gelsomina (or Gelsie, as she’s called) got to know each other—and their new home—right away. Wendy says, “They’ve adjusted beautifully. Maya is extremely affectionate and sleeps in my arms every night. She’s more loving than I could have imagined!” Both cats love to take advantage of the many windows in their home, and they love to spend their days on window sills, in their “cat tree,” or in their cat beds watching birds and enjoying the view. Wendy adds, “Gelsie is a rambunctious rascal that loves to play. She also loves her big sis. We expect some major cuddling between the two come winter.”

It’s hard to believe that these two very different kitties from two separate hoarding situations could end up in the same happy home. Gelsie and Maya were not only perfect for Wendy and Jamie—they were a perfect fit for each other, too.