By Rachael O’connor

Copyright newsweek

A woman planned to adopt a kitten, but fate had other plans.Lily Holmes, a 28-year-old author from Burlington, Vermont, has recently gone viral as she showed off her new pet to the internet, leaving viewers instantly obsessed.While Holmes, who works with people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, had “always wanted to adopt a senior animal,” but she fell in love with a kitten advertised at a local shelter, and decided to adopt it with a friend.”But I got there too late,” she told Newsweek. The kitten had already been adopted.Holmes didn’t return empty-handed however, as she came across a 14-year-old cat named Gumbo who had spent life on the streets before arriving at the Humane Society of Chittenden County.”I did originally set out to adopt a kitten, but the moment I saw Gumbo, I knew he was the one,” she said. “We bonded instantly, and I took him home 20 minutes later.”Along with his “playful, curious, and so so cuddly” personality, Gumbo has another unusual quirk: he’s missing all of his teeth. This appears to be a key reason he’s skyrocketed to online fame since being debuted on Holmes’ TikTok account, @authorlholmes, on September 10.In a video viewed more than 2.6 million times and liked close to 600,000 times, Holmes told the camera: “The kitten that I planned to adopt got adopted an hour before I got to the shelter,” but added, “she went to a really loving home.””So instead, I got Gumbo,” she said—and the camera panned to a senior white cat with orange ears, licking himself on her bed.”He’s 14 years old and doesn’t have teeth,” she went on. And as she spoke, Gumbo lifted his head—and his tongue flopped right out of his toothless mouth as he stared at the camera with an expression that was both grumpy and goofy at the same time.Holmes, meanwhile, couldn’t contain her happiness, grinning at the camera before turning to Gumbo and telling him: “I love you”—as he went right back to grooming.To say TikTok users were fans of Gumbo would be an understatement. Multiple commenters posted screenshots of Gumbo with his tongue out, and one declared: “I would fight God for Gumbo.”Another wrote: “No offence to the kitten, but no kitten on earth could compare to the glory that is Gumbo,” while one was ready to “lay my life down for Gumbo.”Yet another agreed: “That was the only correct decision, Gumbo is PERFECT.”And one commenter put it: “At first I thought ‘Gumbo is kind of a strange name,’ and then you panned to him and I thought ‘oh never mind.'”Holmes told Newsweek that so far, Gumbo is “the best pet anyone could ask for,” and “every day is a joy” with him.”He loves food, and snuggling. You can tell that he’s grateful to be with us,” she said. “I could not recommend getting an older cat enough: they are super affectionate, and such sweet souls well deserving of loving homes.”Incredibly, Gumbo had only been available for adoption for an hour before Holmes arrived at the shelter and brought him home. An Instagram post by the Humane Society of Chittenden County explained that after being rescued from the street, Gumbo underwent medical and dental treatment, where his diseased teeth were removed, followed by foster care.”When he finally went up for adoption this week, we were sure he’d be waiting a while for the right home (he is 14 after all!) but he was in our lobby for all of *one hour* before his match walked in,” they wrote in the post to their account @hsccvt.”[Lily and Gumbo] had an instant connection, and she was so thrilled to give this deserving boy the retirement home of his dreams.”Holmes told Newsweek that Gumbo “originally came to the shelter, for lack of a better term, on the verge of death. The animal hospital and rescue didn’t know if he would survive.”Missing out on the kitten and finding Gumbo at the shelter, she said, “was definitely meant to be.”According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, senior pets have a much lower chance of being adopted than their younger counterparts. When it comes to dogs, puppies and younger dogs are adopted at a rate of 60 percent, compared to just 25 percent of seniors.However, there are benefits to adopting an older animal. One ASPCA report points out that senior cats may settle in more quickly, require less supervision than kittens, and have already grown into their personalities, making them more predictable.Staff member Jenna of the Humane Society of Chittenden County told Newsweek they are “beyond thrilled for Gumbo,” as “our whole staff fell in love with him on day one.”When he arrived at the shelter, he was in such bad shape that we honestly didn’t know if he would make it. But we couldn’t give up hope. He needed a lot of intensive medical care that some senior cats in his condition wouldn’t have been able to withstand. But he proved to be such a resilient, special cat.”He has a big fan club at HSCC, and we’re all so happy that he found such an amazing home with Lily.”Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.