“It was a cold October night in Anchorage, Alaska,” says cat mom Zoe M. She had returned from a vacation trip to find her neighbor in the driveway holding a tuxedo cat with polydactyly, a condition that causes him to have extra toes. She took the cat in for the night, but once inside, he settled in and never left. Homeboy Thumbs had found his forever home.
Naming such a unique cat took time, Zoe recalls. “I started to refer to him as ‘Homeboy’ and ‘Thumbs,’ and I couldn’t pick between them—so I decided to combine the two.” The name was the perfect fit for this fantastically unique feline. “My cat acts like he has street cred, and it’s because he legitimately does. I have no idea how long he was out on the street for,” she says. “He’s also a goofy dude…. I thought Homeboy Thumbs was the perfect mix of goofy and gangster, because that’s what he is.”
As a long-time street cat in a tough environment, Thumbs has certain quirks. “He will try to eat small papers and rocks if given the opportunity. He also eats all the snow that’s on my shoes when I come inside the house,” says Zoe. For that reason and more, pet insurance from Nationwide was a no-brainer for Zoe. “I heard about Nationwide through my employer,” she says. “My pets are a for-life commitment, so whatever issues he develops, I’m on the hook. Nationwide pet insurance will allow me to give him the best care, with less financial stress on me.”
Zoe M. Nationwide member since 2022
