What is the name of your cat?
My cats' name is Adami.
Where is your cat family located in?
We live in Pennsylvania, USA.
What is the breed of your cat?
Adami is Abyssinian.
How old is your cat?
She was born on the 25th of February, 2020.
Where can we find your cat on social media?
On Instagram @Adami_the_Aby
In a few short words/sentences, tell us about your cat's personalities.
She is Inquisitive, intelligent, intrepid and intuitive.
How has your cat transformed your life from the moment you've met him till now?
Adami showed trust, intelligence and patience with us from the first day we met her. Things that have been constants from our first days together include wearing a harness, teeth brushing, nail trimming, and routine feeding schedule. What has blossomed is our understanding of what she needs as stimulation. She thrives on a routine of exercise, such as walks on a lead outside and clicker training to the point she is certified as a Trick Cat at the Novice level and vigorous play of hunt/catch/kill before each meal. During this stressful and emotional time, her being able to intuit exactly when we need her to sit with us has also made us decide to register her as an Emotional Support Animal. We could not have predicted how important we would all be to each other.
As she matures, Adami is more independent in making choices of sometimes playing by herself or doing activities that don’t directly involve us and we respect her becoming her best cat self. With the global pandemic still raging, we rarely travel anywhere but if and when we do, we cannot see leaving her for more than an hour at a time. She travels well in the car with us and walks well with harness and lead. She is great in rural and urban settings so we won’t have to change our lives to be with her.
What does your cat mean to you?
Adami means the world to us and she teaches us so much. Our grown son lives hours away in New York City, and having Adami to love and teach and raise has filled a void. She is always game to try new things and it means so much that she looks to us, trusts us and comforts us during these stressful and challenging times. It is really gratifying to teach her how to be open to doing new things that many people would never think of asking a cat to try. Because it is new to her, hiking trails, mountain lakes and historic locations that have become mundane to us are all new again through her eyes.
How did you and your cat first meet? Tell it to us in the form of a short story.
When our 13-year-old tuxedo cat died, we thought he would be our last since we felt we (at 58 years old) we were getting too old to dedicate our lives to the care of another cat for maybe 20 years. Almost immediately we agreed, “Life without a cat is Hell.” We thought carefully and agreed that we wanted to start with a kitten and chose a local Abyssinian breeder who placed our dear Adami with us May 2020. The months before her coming to live with us allowed us to research and prepare as we had never done before. We put aside all preconceived expectations of what a cat’s limits are. We learned a lot and connected with great communities like CatExplorers well before she came home with us. Because of having prep time, we had everything from toothpaste to vet visits lined up. Because we tempered our expectations, we let Adami’s personality and temperament dictate our family dynamic.
Twelve weeks after Adami was born, our region’s COVID restrictions were relaxed and we drove 2 hours and picked Adami up from her birth mother and littermates. Since then, further lock downs, quarantining and working from home means that the 3 of us have bonded very intensely. We are the only family/friends that we have direct contact with.
What do you think your cat thinks of you?
We are thrilled that Adami shows she feels like a member of our tribe. She looks to us for our reaction when something is out of the ordinary and we look to her to check on her comfort level in situations. She has met very few people, but, always seems interested and friendly in our home and on outings. When she seems disturbed or unsure of herself, she knows we won’t press her to go too far out of her comfort zone like when a dog is near her or making a lot of noise. She knows we have her best interests in mind and are teaching her how to feel safe and capable. She also probably wonders why we do slightly uncomfortable things but over time becomes accepting and a much more flexible individual for trying new things.
Your cat is part of your family. What are some things they do that make you think that she considers you part of theirs?
We sleep together, eat together, play together, love and grieve together. If that isn’t family, what is?
What are some accounts your cats like to follow on Instagram?
@theia.explorertails
@prem.explorertails
@thisissevenofnine
@chiefobrien
@monkeybearz
@onyx_and_azur
@deepspaceninelives
@maisiethekat
@w0rf_thecat
@gulducat
Why do you feel that it is important to show the world that Cats are Family?
At the beginning of the pandemic, I heard many people in the media joke that their dogs were so happy that they were home more, but their cats “couldn’t care less.” Stereotypes like this are heartbreaking and “Cats are Family’ is a great way to educate. It is wrong and shows that cats and their sensitivities are very much misunderstood. Cats show their reactions to change of routine in ways that people may feel are acting out. It helps to research what is best for cats to help understand why they act or react to things the way they do.
During this time of quarantine and lockdowns, we are all feeling the lack of connection. Many of us have lost family members, have had to forego vacations and are missing life events like births and even being at the side of a family member as they passed. We are missing family, friends and co-workers and many people are choosing to bring animals into their homes for companionship. It is at this time we have to remember that cats are not ours to use as comfort objects only to be disregarded or discarded when we are able to return to our pre-pandemic lives. We owe them to be treated with care and understanding as we transition outside of the routines they have gotten used to and realize they will miss us, their closest family, with no understanding of the reason for change if we have to leave for long periods of time.
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