{"id":119328,"date":"2026-01-03T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T17:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sfspca.org\/?p=119328"},"modified":"2026-01-15T13:49:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T21:49:56","slug":"happy-tails-ella-and-nella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sfspca.org\/blog\/happy-tails-ella-and-nella\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Tails: Ella and Nella"},"content":{"rendered":"

Animals enter our lives and stay in our hearts forever.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0especially true for Ella and Nella, two tuxedo cats adopted by their guardian, Grace, in 2001 and 2016. Although they never met, Ella and Nella\u2019s stories are connected by love\u00a0and\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0the power of adoption.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ella\u2019s story<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

In the spring of 2001, Grace adopted a tuxedo cat\u00a0named Ella\u00a0from an animal shelter in Ithaca, New York. From the beginning, Ella moved through life with\u00a0a calm\u00a0confidence. She explored balconies like a tightrope artist, greeted guests like a seasoned host, and took her seat at the table as if she had always belonged there.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grace explains that Ella had a gift for connection. Friends who insisted they were\u00a0<\/span>not<\/span><\/i>\u00a0cat people\u00a0often found themselves converted\u00a0after\u00a0Ella perched on their chest, purring inches from their face.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the holidays, her personality sparkled even brighter. One Christmas, she transformed an empty Amazon box into a custom-designed bed\u00a0after\u00a0carefully chewing\u00a0the\u00a0cardboard into\u00a0a\u00a0curved headrest. Her creativity was so\u00a0noteworthy\u00a0that it later earned her first place\u00a0for Most\u00a0Unusual\u00a0Behavior\u00a0at\u00a0Cornell Vet School\u2019s \u201cFeline Follies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ella traveled cross-country with\u00a0Grace\u00a0to settle\u00a0into a sunlit life in the Bay Area. Even as kidney failure weakened her body, her spirit remained\u00a0strong. She still found her favorite patch of sunlight by the sliding glass door, choosing warmth and\u00a0leisure whenever she could.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Ella passed away, her absence left a hole in Grace\u2019s heart.\u00a0Her resilience and her devotion to Grace left a lasting imprint.\u00a0For a long time, the idea of adopting another cat felt impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nella\u2019s story<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

On December 16, 2016, Grace went to San Francisco to see\u00a0a performance of\u00a0<\/span>The King and I<\/span><\/i>\u00a0at the Golden Gate Theatre\u00a0before visiting\u00a0Macy\u2019s Holiday Windows. While Grace was admiring the puppies and kittens playing in the windows, a\u00a0volunteer mentioned that there were more kittens inside.\u00a0That\u2019s where she met a little kitten named Nella.<\/span><\/p>\n

At first, Grace was struck by how similar Nella\u2019s name was to Ella\u2019s. Then she saw that, like Ella, Nella was a tuxedo cat with a distinctive white stripe down her nose. The resemblance was uncanny, and it was love at first sight.\u00a0With care and kindness from the San\u00a0Francisco\u00a0SPCA team, the adoption was\u00a0finalized\u00a0and Nella went home.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a kitten, Nella was playful, curious, and endlessly inventive. Now at nine years old, her\u00a0guardian\u00a0explains that \u201cshe\u2019s more mellow, but still sweet and entertaining.\u201d And like Ella before her, she has claimed the same favorite sunlit spot by the sliding glass door, stretching out in the warmth\u00a0to\u00a0continue\u00a0the tradition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ella and Nella never met, yet their stories are intertwined, linked by sunlit windows and the joy that\u00a0<\/span>adoption<\/span><\/a>\u00a0can bring.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Animals enter our lives and stay in our hearts forever.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0especially true for Ella and Nella, two tuxedo cats adopted by their guardian, Grace, in 2001 and 2016. Although they never […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":119345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-119328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-happy-tails"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHappy Tails: Ella and Nella - San Francisco SPCA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Animals enter our lives and stay in our hearts forever. 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