What a purr-fect ending!
Al Roker the kitten has found his fur-ever home and we couldn't be more excited for his future.
TODAY first introduced the kitten to readers and viewers earlier this month and his namesake, TODAY weatherman Al Roker shared a call to adopt the young feline on the 3rd hour of TODAY on June 9.
The black domestic shorthair, who is now about 14 weeks old, was adopted by Denise Lockley of Raleigh, North Carolina last Saturday. Lockley, an optician and a self-described TODAY fan and "big animal lover," applied to adopt Al Roker and his sibling, a gray kitten named after (who else?) former TODAY co-anchor Katie Couric, from the nonprofit rescue organization 2 Paws Up.
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In an email to TODAY, Lockley, 57, explained that she had been looking to adopt two kittens. "I found Katie first and did not know about Al until the person fostering her told me she had a brother. I had decided that I wanted to get two kittens so they would have someone to play and grow up with.
"When I saw a picture of him I knew I wanted to meet him too. I could not believe how much they looked alike. Their markings are exactly the same, only (Katie) is grey and white and (Al) is black and white."
Al Roker the kitten had been in foster care with Haley Pryor while Katie Couric the kitten was being fostered by Courtney Osgood, the founder of Raleigh-based public relations agency CKO PR. Osgood, a first-time foster cat mom, described Katie as a warm and friendly companion.
"I actually ended up calling her Mouse because I thought she looked like one — obviously a cute one!" Osgood wrote in an email to TODAY. "She would also make this little squeak noise every time she was ready to snuggle to take a nap. It was so cute! She was such a love bug. It took her a couple of days to warm up to me when I first got her but when she knew she was safe — she was just the sweetest thing — with the loudest purr!"
Lockley echoed Osgood's description and reported that Al was also very lively.
"The kitten named Al is very fiesty! He goes a million miles a minute so I am not sure he is like the real Al in that regard but he is so cute and funny you can’t help but love him so maybe they have the likability factor in common," Lockley said. "Katie Couric ... is adorable! Very petite and princess like, especially when she sleeps in her perfect little ball ... They have very different personalities for being brother and sister."
Lockley, who has owned a cat before, told TODAY she wanted to adopt this time around because she knew there was a need to do so. She spent time with Osgood and Pryor before making the decision to formally adopt Al and Katie.
"I'm so so happy with the people that chose to adopt (Katie)," Osgood said. "I couldn’t ask for a better couple. I know she’s going to be very loved for a very long time!"
After it was determined that Lockley and the kittens were a good match, she was able to bring them home.
"The adoption process was a wonderful experience and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a pet," Lockley said.
Lockley added that Al and Katie are loving their new home, where they live with her and her husband Cris.
"They are really enjoying being together and are rarely out of sight of one another," Lockley said. "Al really has taken to my husband, who works from home and sits on his shoulder while he works. We are still calling them Al and Katie but their nicknames are double trouble!"
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