‘Unwanted’ cat finds home after viral TikTok video

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Sarina was found in a bath tub with her kittens and infested with fleas

A cat has finally found a home after a TikTok video explaining her plight received 1.6 million views.

Sarina was brought into Taylors Rehoming Centre in Dorchester, Dorset, by an RSPCA inspector after she was found in a bath tub with her kittens and infested with fleas.

The kittens quickly found new homes but after Sarina spent a hefty 232 days at the charity the staff decided to put a video of her up on the social media platform.

“We honestly weren’t expecting it to reach that many people or go viral,” animal care assistant Hannah Burt said.

The emotional video, which has also had more than 140,000 likes, features Sarina at the rehoming centre with messages stuck on the glass of her den to the strains of an instrumental version of Coldplay’s Fix You.

The notices include: “I’ve spent 232 days in RSPCA care. I came in with my four kittens. They found their home but I’m still waiting.”

Others say: “Currently I have 0 adoption applications… could you be the one to offer me my forever home?”

She is then let out of her den and happily plays with her RSPCA handler.

The TikTok video explaining Sarina’s plight received 1.6 million views

“We made the TikTok because we knew she’d already been with us for a while and she needed a special sort of home,” Ms Burt explained.

“She’s a really lovely cat, really affectionate and sweet, but a little bit nervous to begin with.

“People meet cats like that and don’t always get to see their true personality because they need a little bit of time to learn to trust you.”

She added: “We thought making the TikTok would be a good way of getting her out there, and having videos that showed what her personality was like, her being friendly – she’d sit on my lap every day and come for a cuddle.

“It worked really well.”

Sarina has now found a home with a local woman

Ms Burt thinks it also took Sarina some time to find a home because she is a little older at seven years old, as well as being black and white – whereas ginger and brown tabby cats are more popular.

But after posting the video the centre was inundated with applications, including one from the US.

As a result Sarina found a “purrfect” home with a local woman within two weeks.

Ms Burt told the BBC: “We were all absolutely overjoyed. It’s quite emotional, I had a real soft spot for her so we’re all absolutely chuffed.

“It’s a really nice feeling because you get to know them really well when they’re here for a while and obviously the end goal is always to find them their forever home, so it’s really great.”