A bonded pair of cats are living happy new lives at a home in Muswell Hill, after waiting for months in RSPCA care without a single application.
Agatha and Bertie arrived into RSPCA East London and Havering Branch care earlier this year after being rescued from the same home with many other cats.
The pair quickly became favourites among staff and volunteers. One-year-old Bertie is a calicivirus carrier – but shows no symptoms and needs no medication. But staff feared it was putting off potential adopters – until couple Anton Holding and Flo House (pictured below) rescued them both.
Anton said: “We saw them on the RSPCA Find A Pet website and we liked the look of them. We knew we wanted a bonded pair, as we thought it would help them settle in a new home.
“When we visited them, we could tell the staff at the centre loved them. They kept saying how playful and bonded they were. They were play-fighting and being mischievous. One of them was grabbing my shoes – we could tell they were characters!”
Hearing that Bertie was a calicivirus carrier did initially cause some doubt, but after some research, the couple decided to adopt them.
Feline Calicivirus (FCV) is a common, highly contagious virus that causes upper respiratory infections and mouth ulcers in cats, commonly known as part of cat flu.
“We have to monitor him but it’s not impacting his day-to-day life. We know the virus is quite common. We don’t know how it will impact him in the future, but he hasn’t had any flare ups yet. He’s such a fun little creature – even if it was a big deal – I’m still glad we’ve got him, he’s very sweet.”
Agatha and Bertie’s happy ending comes as the RSPCA warns that rising levels of multi-animal cases are putting unprecedented pressure on its teams and volunteers across England and Wales – with 3,280 multi-animal cases reported across England and Wales already this year – an average of 410 incidents each month.
In 2025 RSPCA frontline officers responded to more than 4,200 incidents involving 10 or more animals at a single address – nearly 12 every single day and 355 a month. These incidents involved 88,000 animals including dogs, cats, small pets, horses and exotic animals and 75 of those cases involved more than 100 animals – more than one every single week.
And often, due to their difficult backgrounds, some of these animals will take longer to rehabilitate and rehome, and will need extra-special owners who are patient, understanding and prepared to take on additional training and medical needs.
Happily settled in their new home, Agatha and Bertie are just as happy and mischievous as ever.
Anton added: “Knowing their background story it’s emotional, they were neglected and kept in a dirty unkempt environment. Getting them is the best decision we’ve made – it’s nice to know you’ve given them a second chance and a safe home.”
New data has revealed that RSPCA frontline officers are dealing with an average 410* ‘multi-animal’ incidents – involving 10 or more every single month – an increase on 2025 which was a record breaking year.
Out of the 3,280 multi-animal cases reported across England and Wales already this year – 1,468 were cat cases and 757 dog multi-animal incidents.
Many of the animals rescued from these homes have behavioural and medical issues requiring rehabilitation and the RSPCA urgently is calling upon experienced and patient pet owners to consider helping by rehoming and fostering so they can help more in need.
Branch manager Natalie Chopra said: “When Agatha and Bertie arrived they were absolutely starving. We’d put bowls of food in and you could see they would almost not believe their eyes that they got a bowl each and didn’t have to fight.
“They are the most adorable pair. They love to play-fight with each other, but it’s clear Bertie is besotted with Agatha and follows her everywhere. They always curl up and sleep together – and even curl their tails together when out on walks.
“It was heartbreaking to see them rubbing against their pen, begging for love and fuss. We’ve never had such a lovely pair of young cats spend so long in our care. As Bertie is a calicivirus carrier we assume that’s why it took so long. He has no symptoms and we are delighted he and Agatha have found a loving new home with Anton and his family.”
Our rescued pets have experienced trauma and we are urgently looking for special homes for those animals who have needed an extra helping hand. You can help change animal’s lives.
