It’s the purr-fect ending to a cat-astrophic tale.
The first batch of cats quarantined by the city amid a rare bird flu outbreak have finally found a place to call home.
Eighteen felines were plucked from the ASPCA’s Yorkville adoption center last weekend by New York kitty-lovers, after more than 100 cats were brought to their facility flu-free.
An orange tabby named Simba was one of the first lucky kitties to get scooped up.
“As soon as I met him I knew I had to take him home,” said Ashley Smith, 23, of the Upper East Side. “We had a really special bond.”
Smith, an accountant, met eight other cats before falling for Simba.
“He ran right out to me and wanted to be petted,” Smith said. “I loved how social and curious he was right away.”
When ASPCA staff informed Smith that Simba was a victim of the recent H7N2 virus outbreak, she wasn’t unfazed.
“He couldn’t help that he got put in a shelter and got sick,” she sympathized. “He needs a home just like any other cat.”
The smitten cat owner named the 1-year-old Simba after her favorite Disney movie, “The Lion King,” and has already started an Instagram account in his honor.
Another fortunate feline to find a home last weekend is a 4-month-old brown tabby named Lucho.
“I think he chose me,” said Melissa Rodriguez, 30, of the bubbly kitten. “He came over and started purring right away.”
Rodriguez, a preschool teacher, was picking out a cat to give her husband John Lorenti, 39, for his birthday.
“When she gave me the note with his picture, I’m man enough to admit that I started to tear up,” said Lorenti, a Manhattan car salesman.
“It made it even more special that he had gone through being sick. We love to be able to help.”
Lucho was named after Lorenti’s favorite Argentinian soccer player – Luis Óscar González because he loves to kick around his toys.
“He’s a speedball,” Lorenti said, as Lucho darted across the couple’s hardwood floors in Bensonhurst.
But one month ago, life for Simba and Lucho wasn’t so blissful.
On Jan. 12, some 500 cats from shelters all over the city were locked up in a makeshift quarantine facility in Long Island City to halt the outbreak.
It was the first time the disease has ever been found in cats, and experts are still stumped about how a Bronx shelter cat named Alfred first contracted the illness.
Now, cats are starting to roll out of quarantine into the ASPCA and other adoption centers.
“Each of these cats tested negative multiple times over the course of several days before being released … and is now completely healthy,” said ASPCA spokeswoman Kelly Krause.
Since Feb. 4, 41 cats have been adopted from the ASPCA and about half the cats remain at the quarantine, Krause said.
Three cats, including Alfred, died and “a small number of cats” were humanely euthanized, officially said.
“These cats demonstrated tremendous resilience during what must have been a very stressful time for them,” Krause said. “We’re thrilled to now find them loving homes where they can relax and become part of a family.”
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