Paige Wickenden always knew she wanted a cat. In late 2024, on her trip home to New Jersey for the holidays, she decided to take a peek at the adoptable cats at the Burlington County Animal Shelter. After scrolling for a bit, a cat named Victor Mature, named after the Hollywood star in the '40s and '50s, caught her eye. Wickenden says she was instantly drawn to the "funky-looking cat" and knew she needed to meet him. Wickenden talks to PEOPLE exclusively about the invisible string she later discovered between her and the orange tabby. Wickenden says Victor Mature was apprehensive at first. The first day she saw him, he hid behind other cats. However, she kept returning to the shelter, determined to win him over — and it worked. The 2-year-old cat slowly started warming up to her. On the fifth day, he finally let her pet him. Soon after, Wickenden put in her adoption paperwork and took Victor Mature home. "I felt so bad, and I felt like he was so misunderstood, and I wanted to know the backstory on him," she says. "He had been in a hoarding situation for his entire life, which is why he didn't like people. I felt like he just had, like, such a big little personality and just needed some TLC to take care of him." After the holidays were over, they drove 10 hours from New Jersey to South Carolina, where Wickenden lives. The transition wasn't easy at first, but Victor Mature slowly started to warm up to Wickenden. By six months in, he was a "completely different" cat. Then, out of the blue, Wickenden's brother FaceTimed her with a shocking discovery. Years ago, their mom bought their dad a painting of his hometown for Christmas. The portrait was hung right in the middle of their living room. The painting depicts a main street in 1954, including the town's movie theatre. The name displayed on the marquee? Victor Mature. Wickenden had searched for his name online when she first adopted Victor Mature, but never knew the name was featured on the painting she passed every day in her childhood. "It's hanging up right when you walk into my house, and I always tell my mom, 'I'm gonna take that painting one day, I love it so much, I'm gonna have it in my house.' No wonder why I always wanted it," Wickenden shares. Wickenden shared the crazy connection to her TikTok, which amassed over 106,000 views. People in the comments suggested she play some of Victor Mature's old movies for her cat to see how he reacts. "He didn't," Wickenden jokes. "I left the movie on for him just sitting there, and he was like, 'Okay, thank you.' " Wickenden believes that the invisible string theory is real and that something was drawing her to adopt Victor Mature all along. "He was part of our home before we even realized," she wrote online. She also credits the Burlington County Animal Shelter for bringing them together. "Adopting is the best because whether you realize it or not, you have a certain draw to an animal for a reason," Wickenden shares. "At a shelter, you have time to let them choose you. It is such a rewarding relationship."