At the grand old age of 18 and completely blind, all this cat wanted was a home.

And having patiently waited for months, that is exactly what Isabella now has, thanks to a retired couple.

Isabella spent her days at the Thanet RSPCA branch greeting visitors in the reception area, but is now settling into her home in Sittingbourne with Brenda and Terry Faulkner Wood.

Brenda, 67, said: “Our cat, Kitty, who we’d had for 14 years, was 16 years old when she got a lump on her throat.

“She wasn’t able to swallow very well so we had to have her put to sleep. It just wasn’t right here without a cat so I searched on the RSPCA website and saw Isabella. I thought she would be ideal and we wanted to have another older cat. We have room in our home and our hearts for an older lady.”

The couple also have an older dog and an elderly horse so they really are proving that age is just a number.

Brenda added: “My husband has dementia and he loves having Isabella sit on his lap. She is a great companion to both of us and she fits in well with the rest of us older lot. As time goes on she gets a bit braver. Even without her sight, she knows the bedroom really well so she mostly sticks to that room but she will come out to the hallway on her own. We also bring her out in the living room in the evenings and she sits with us.”

Emily Mayer, deputy manager at RSPCA Thanet branch, said: “We are so pleased that Isabella has a nice home to spend her twilight years.

“She’s such a special cat and everyone who met her fell in love with her.”