What are the names of your cats?
Ichi and Kyui
Where is your cat family located in?
We live in Quezon City, Philippines.
What are the breeds of your cats?
Both of our cats are Puspin Royalties or domestic shorthairs. “Pusa” is the Tagalog word for cat + “Pin” is short for Pinoy or Filipino.
How old are your cats?
Ichi is turning 2 yrs old this December and Kyui just turned 6 months this September!
Where can we find your cats on social media?
On Instagram @queen.ichi
In a few short words/sentences, tell us about your cats' personalities.
We call Ichi, “Queen Ichi” because she’s very diva-like or queenly. She acts as the boss of the house (she is) and is always lazy but when she feels sweet, she becomes the most loving baby! She hates to be alone but doesn’t want to be too close to receiving pets when we’re together. She makes it seem like she doesn’t like receiving cuddles by trying to run away from us most of the time but purrs when being pet. We refer to her attitude as “tsundere”, an anime term used for characters who are cold most of the time but become soft and sweet for their loved ones.
Kyui is the sweetest cat that we could ask for, we even call her “purr machine!” Not too clingy, but, she still manages to melt us with her sudden sweet antics. She was the first one to sleep with us and always makes sure that she’s in the same room that we're in. But, even with this sweetness, she can be very brave when facing other older cat strangers. She also knows some tricks like fetch! This amazes us so much since we didn’t really train her. She’s a smart girl.
So in short, they’re almost like opposites. Ichi is tough on the outside and warm inside while Kyui is warm and loving on the outside but a fighter when needed!
How have your cats transformed your life from the moment you've met them till now?
From someone scared of all pets in general (dogs or cats), I became a cat lover and gained a new appreciation to all animals. We don’t treat them as mere pets that are in the house. We treat them as a family since we’re also the only family that they have. This quarantine was also really hard for us just like for everyone else but being with them made it all better. They complete our little family.
What do your cats mean to you?
We treat them as our daughters. Whenever we go out even for a little while, we already miss them and we can’t wait to be back home. With them is our home now.
How did you and your cats first meet? Tell it to us in the form of a short story.
Harvey was always a cat-lover even when he was young while I was scared of all pets in general. Before we got married, I was thinking of a perfect gift for him on our wedding day. Adopting a cat was one thing we talked about that we were sure we were going to do after we got married, but, we never really discussed how we would do it. I thought that giving him our first adopted cat as a gift on our wedding day was perfect as it became a statement of me showing that I accept whatever it is that he loves. My maid of honour helped me find a cat to adopt, and luckily, she had a friend who had a cat that just gave birth and was looking for people who want to adopt the kittens. We were lucky enough to have Ichi because she was one of the last kittens to be adopted. Her other siblings with full plain colour were adopted first. My maid of honour then became Ichi’s godmother. 😂 She also has a patch/line of orange on her forehead like the number “1” and we always say that it’s because she was destined to be our first daughter. She quickly made me love cats and soon after one year, we decided to adopt another one so she could have a playmate.
Kyui is a white puspin (or domestic shorthair) that became our youngest daughter. She was adopted from a good pawrent that posted in a “cat adoption” page on Facebook. She was only a month old when we found the post so we had to wait for a few weeks before we could taker her home. By this time, we already had the @queen.ichi IG page so this served as “proof” to her original pawrent that we are good pawrents. This was during the early days of the quarantine period when there were very strict rules on transportation so she had to be delivered to us via a motorcycle. We felt bad about this but she adjusted quite fast in our home. Ichi was the one who had a tougher time accepting another cat in the house (like a true queen) but Kyui’s playfulness won her over. They’re true sisters now that create warmth and chaos in the house.
What do you think your cats think of you?
Ichi portrays a queen attitude but is really a softy on the inside. We think that she may look at us as her slaves for most days, but, still respects and loves us as parents (if that makes sense). Whenever we go out for a while, she’s the first one to warmly and sweetly welcome us when we get home! But she returns to the queen attitude once we settle down. Kyui is the opposite. She treats us as pawrents and she loves receiving pets and cuddles. She’s truly the youngest in the family.
Your cats are part of your family. What are some things they do that make you think that they consider you part of theirs?
There was one time when I was having an extremely hard time and Kyui suddenly approached me and placed her paw on my lap and looked at me as if asking if everything’s okay. I was so surprised and touched that I felt like everything was going to be okay. Both of them also sense and become concerned whenever something’s not right. It feels as though they somewhat understand that we need comfort and try to help in their own little ways. They also sleep with us every night even though there are more comfortable and spacious places to sleep. Or they just treat us as a source of food! Haha either way, we still feel like they regard us as family.
What are some accounts your cats like to follow on Instagram?
@princessfellini
@qqsunim
@kimchiipot
@dani.the.cat
@sauron_mainecoon
@coffeethebosscat
Why do you feel that it is important to show the world that Cats are Family?
We really appreciate this campaign that wants to show that cats can be part of a family. Here in the Philippines, dogs are more preferred as pets because of the notion that cats are not as sweet and loyal. We hope that this campaign can show that cats can be part of your family too as long as you give them enough care and attention! Some people think that pets are just like things that are there to merely guard them or serve a single purpose. We want to show others that pets are living beings that can feel just like us. We shouldn’t appreciate an animal based on how thick their fur is or how rare their breed is. Once you adopt a pet, you become their whole life and you should be responsible for making that life wonderful as much as they make yours wonderful. Their own life revolves around you and if that doesn’t make one part of a family, I don’t know what will. We hope that some may also gain more appreciation for cats, especially stray ones, and even adopt and accept them into their families.
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