Fur Baby Portraits
The role that these small animals take in our lives are so big and pivotal. It is through our pets that we learn patience, unconditional love, and the beauty of being in the present.
I never understood the importance of pets until I got my own in 2019. My friendship with my orange tabby cat has allowed me to grow and develop with kindness, grace, and softness.
I want to take more portraits of fur babies because of the friendship and love that they offer to us in their short lives. If you have fur babies, I would love to connect to know your story!
Milo
Milo has been a part of my life throughout my 20’s. We experienced the COVID-19 pandemic together, he sent me off on first drunken party escapade, he sat with me during every mental breakdown, and he’s walked with me to every corner of every rental home I’ve moved to. He was my best friend and I was his whole world.
In 2020, we discovered that Milo has a diaphragmatic hernia. This is where there is a hole in the diaphragm which allows the abdominal organs to move into the chest cavity causing issues with breathing and lung development. Over the years, we have been told that Milo’s hernia has become worse and without surgery, he could die from his abdominal organs crushing his heart. However, the consultation and surgery fees for such a surgery is wildly expensive and we were told that there was a 50/50 chance of survival or rejection. So, I made the difficult choice to not pursue surgery and just spend every moment with him as if it’s his last.
Milo has slowed down a lot in the past 2 years. He use to be super active, patrolling the house at all hours of the day, but not as much anymore. He still drives me crazy with his persistent cry for food but I’m aware that my time with him is limited. In my heart of hearts, I don’t think Milo will make it to see me in my 30’s. Regardless of the unknown amount of time I have with Milo, I remind myself of the love and friendship that Milo has gifted me. I’m reminded that in a world that’s so crazy and evil, Milo is a constant in my life that lights up the world.
I always tell people this but I’m so honored and blessed to be Milo’s besto friendo in this lifetime.
Anie’s besto friendo • DSH Orange Tabby
Nimbus Clover
Pheng’s besto friendo • American Short Hair
One of his unique traits from when we first adopted Nimbus Clover is that he was always purring. We were curious as to why this was the case but it turns out that he was just a super happy cat.
It should have been an obvious sign since he was the only kitten having zoomies in the showroom. When we brought him home, he was so curious about his new surroundings. He would run back and forth in the hallways of my dad’s house. He was such a cute little ball of energy.
His crazy energy also makes him super naughty. There have been instances when he ran away from home and somehow managed to make it home every time he got out of the house. His naughtiness is due to how intelligent he is. My family often joke about how he’s such a bad influence on the other cats in the house. He climbs the highest cupboards that no cat has ever climbed before and goes into places that is deemed to dangerous.
Regardless of how crazy his energy and ideas are, Nimbus Clover remains to be a fun dynamic in the household.
Cereal
Xee’s besto friendo • Calico DSH
Cereal was our very first cat who we adopted from a friend. Before choosing Cereal, we were set on the idea of adopting a white kitten however our youngest sibling was so enamored by Cereal since she was the only spotted one out of her siblings. We knew right then and there that we had to adopt Cereal.
Cereal was a curious little baby. She would attempt to jump to the highest windows and would find the most unconventional sleeping spots. She’s a low maintenance girl who loves eating bread and sleeping.
One of her favorite toys are those small yellow foam nerf balls. Out of all the cats in our household, she loves to play fetch with those balls. She can play forever chasing the ball and always succeeds in almost bringing the ball back to us. Another one of her specialties is making everyone that she sleeps on top of fall asleep in seconds. She’s such a great comfort cat and one of the most well-behaved cats in the household.
For anyone who wonder why her name is Cereal: My aunt was doing one of those things where you have to name your pet the thing that you are currently eating. At that time, I was eating a bowl of Cereal. A few months later, I got Cereal and that’s how she got her cute and unique name.
Although we now have so many cats in the house, Cereal remains to be most well-behaved cat who’s one of the biggest sweethearts. She minds her own business and never steals the other cat’s food. With all the crazy cat energy in the house, Cereal’s calm and quiet energy is much appreciated.