What is the name of your cat?
Osiris
Where is your cat family located in?
We are in Madrid, Spain.
What is the breed of your cat?
He is a white and tabby mix rescue.
How old is your cat?
He is 4 years old.
Where can we find your cat on social media?
On Instagram @osirisadventurecat
In a few short words/sentences, tell us about your cat's personalities.
Osiris is very loving, active, and loves the outdoors. He has the greatest personality and we love his uniqueness. He is extremely talkative and stubborn and can be slightly resentful when you say "no" to something he wants.
He is also quite jealous of other people, and sleeps between us to stop any kind of human contact, like saying "this human is mine and this human is also mine".
But he loves being around kids and even lets them touch his belly (forbidden area for adults).
How has your cat transformed your life from the moment you've met him till now?
I have lived with cats most of my life, but Osiris' personality is so original, so unique, that it is like living with a little furry person with a very strong character. My boyfriend has never had animals before, so I didn't know he was such a loving parent. He devotes his time and energy for Osiris, he will do anything for him, and this has been such a nice discovery.
We have lived so many things together! One year after we found him, we moved to Denmark and obviously, Osiris came with us. Less than a year after that, we moved back to Spain, and since then, we have been taking turns to travel (we travel a lot for work/studies/life in general), so we never leave Osiris alone for too long.
Now we adapt our plans to his needs, but I will never complain about this. Last year I lived in Italy for four months, and I only wanted to come back to my family!
Often Osiris doesn't enjoy these changes, but we do what we can to smooth them for him. During this quarantine, the three of us have been together 24/7 for almost two months and he couldn't be happier!
What does your cat mean to you?
Cats are parts of my family. We have our own language and we understand each other, I take care of them, and they take care of me. My two other cat friends now live with my mother, but I go often to visit them so they know I am still here for them.
Some people might say that Osiris is my son because I feed him and pay the rent, but I consider him a friend, my best friend. We have our ups and downs, like when he digs out my plants and I get angry (he is perfectly aware that is not allowed), but then he comes back one hour later saying he is sorry and asking for cuddles.
Or when he finds out it's not dinner time and bites our legs in an attempt to convince us to feed him earlier. But at the end of the day, the second we turn off the last lamp, he jumps on the bed, lies between us, and 5 seconds later he is already snoring. And there he stays until the alarm.
He is my best friend because he cheers me up better than anyone when I feel sad, depressed, or alone. He has traveled with me through Europe and Spain, and he has been by my side through the hardest moments of the last years.
How did you and your cat first meet? Tell it to us in the form of a short story.
How we found Osiris is actually a funny story. He is a rescue but we didn't find him in a shelter or through a friend.
In the summer of 2016, my boyfriend and I were doing tourism in Extremadura, a region of the southwest of Spain. We were walking around a super small village, less than 20 houses, that is right in the frontier between Spain and Portugal. We ran into a little girl that was asking for help, she had found a kitten in the countryside, at the frontier, and didn't know what to do with it. She had hidden it in some ruins, so we followed her.
Suddenly I had a confused kitten in my arms, that we could not just take back to the ruins, and abandon him on its own. A group of locals, sitting at the terrace of the only bar, told us they hadn't seen its mom for some days and the kitten had been wandering alone around the village. They had no intention of taking care of him, "such is life" they said.
So we took the Spanish-Portuguese kitten home with us, to temporarily foster him. Less than a day later I knew we were going to fail, but I pretended for a couple of weeks and told my friends "we haven't found anyone yet" (as if we were looking for adopters...).
What do you think your cat thinks of you?
We found Osiris when he was still very young, three months old approximately. He had been alone for some time and we believe he has carried some abandonment issues since then. I think he sees us as some furless parents, not just food providers. He comes to us when he needs something or feels scared and we sleep together every night.
We have the feeling that Osiris sees Román, my boyfriend, as the "weak" one, because he always comes to him first to beg for food, and insists, and insists... But Osiris absolutely adores me (even if Román agrees I hope he never sees this), he constantly comes to me for cuddles and he gives me sandpaper kisses all the time.
We have a very intense relationship, I am the one that puts the limits (like plants, counters, non-scratchable furniture) and he gets angry at me, but then he remembers he loves me, before getting angry again...
Your cat is part of your family. What are some things they do that make you think that she considers you part of theirs?
When Osiris sleeps on the bed while we work is the only time of the day that we are not interacting somehow. Even when he sleeps somewhere else, he is supervising our activities opening an eye from time to time.
The rest of the day he stays close (not difficult in our tiny apartment), or he comes to check what we are doing. He sits on the toilet while we shower, waits at the kitchen door while we cook (= he waits for food), and comes out with us to the terrace when we have lunch outside or when I am working on my urban vegetable garden.
He also likes sitting in our laps while we work or watch Netflix. He never stays alone anywhere, he prefers to be close to us, and the furthest he sleeps from us is at our feet during the summer, enjoying the breeze that comes through the open windows.
I believe he truly enjoys our company, and he gives the best kisses that are, undoubtedly, a proof of love.
What are some accounts your cats like to follow on Instagram?
@hellopistachio
@hokuleathesurfingcat
@travelingwithtopazandatlas
@bonaparteofbordentown
@adventuresoffishandchips
@furrywaffles
@starpurrd @indy_onthego
@o.g.adventurecat
@__churchinthewild and many more!
Why do you feel that it is important to show the world that Cats are Family?
We need this. I am sick of hearing that I pamper or spoil my cat too much, that he is just a cat. My family, my own friends make fun of the things we buy for him, for his health, safety, and comfort, as if they were luxuries. It also annoys me that they feel free to criticize what we do for Osiris because he is a cat, while they would not say such things out loud if he were a kid (even if they thought so).
Not to mention what I hear when I say I have an Instagram for my cat or that take him hiking on the weekends. In these situations, I usually just shut my mouth because I don't want to be always angry (it is constant). That is why it is so important normalizing that cats, and dogs, can be members of our families; that they are as important as other people, or more; and that they have all the rights to be "spoiled" or "pampered" because they are amazing.
Maybe I cannot convince my friends and relatives on my own, but I am sure we can convince all those unbelievers if we work together!
Over to you...
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