CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ A grouchy feline dubbed the "world's worst cat" is quickly becoming the world's most popular, as people vie to adopt her and media outlets from around the world compete for interviews.
Stories of Perdita and her perpetual grumpiness became a social media hit last week, after Mitchell County Animal Rescue in western N.C. detailed her shelter antics in a blunt Facebook post that has generated 5,700 comments and nearly 9,000 shares as of Monday morning.
Perdita's stranger habits include "jump scaring" people, slapping anyone who tries to pet her, and "staring into your soul until you feel as if you may never be cheerful again," said the tongue-in-cheek post.
The shelter offered to waive all fees for anyone who stepped up to adopt Perdita.
Within days, People magazine, Fox News, the Today show, the New York Post, and the BBC had done stories on Perdita, and Arm & Hammer pledged to give a year's supply of cat litter to whomever adopted the cat.
Some media outlets have dubbed her the new "Grumpy Cat," a reference to the famously miserable cat that was a media sensation until her death last year of an infection.
Exactly how many people offered to adopt Perdita isn't known, because the shelter says it couldn't keep up with all the calls and emails.
It cut off the application process Friday and a decision on Perdita's new home could be announced as early as Monday, Jan. 27, officials posted on Facebook.
"She has had 115+ applications for adoption, hundreds of emails of love and support and many, many phone calls," the shelter said Friday on Facebook. "If you have called, messaged or emailed and we have not returned your messages, please be patient, we are working hard to speak with everyone we can."
Perdita is believed to be about 4 years old and came to the shelter on Christmas Eve, after the county learned a person had died with multiple pets left in the home, shelter officials told McClatchy News.
The cat quickly became known among shelter staff for "trolling" people for attention, which she soundly rejected with a swat of her paw. Videos show Perdita growls, even when she's allowing someone to pet her.
It was thought she might be ill, so the shelter called in a vet to check her out, but he concluded "she's just a jerk," shelter officials posted on Facebook.
"We love this spirited, strong-willed, beauty. We have given her privacy and quiet as much as possible," the shelter posted.
