Imgurian Interview: A Cabinet of Curious Cats

Did you know that January 2nd is Happy Mew Years for Cats? We didn’t until recently and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than to showcase some of our very own cat-tastic creators.

While we couldn’t get to every curious cat here on Imgur, we hope this collection is enough to satisfy your cat cravings. From purrfect paintings to pet-a-day posts, we got the chance to speak with a few of these fantastic feline friends and learn a little more. In this line up we'll be chatting with @friendlynoodles, @KittensForDays, @adrianontherocks, and @DailyStrudel.

Let’s hop on into this Imgurian Interview!

Imgurian @friendlynoodles is the cat-mom to the cat-meme Noodle, as well as a talented artist behind some crazy cat art. 4 years ago we were blessed with the very first Noodles post, and the collection has been growing ever since. In addition to asking her some questions about the fuzziest feline, we got some insight into how she creates her impressive cat-choirs.

*Do you have a favorite pet on Imgur aside from Noodle or your other kitties?*

I really like Sigrid from @sigirides. And also, the Oreo Cat I like too: Oreo, Pudding, and her new kitten Olive.

*What’s something most users may not know about Noodle?*

That would be that he wasn’t mine at first. I met Noodle through my husband: when we first met he had Noodle, that was my introduction to Noodle - I had Atlas at the time.

*Is there a story behind the name Noodle?*

It was the name that fit. My husband is the one who had Noodles first, and he chose that name. I think he really likes the band Gorillaz, and the member called Noodle - he was like that sounds like him, it sounds better.

*Which of the siblings does Noodle like the best?*

He really gets along with everyone. Like he’s so aloof, Atlas would like to sleep next to him all the time. They have a rug and they both sleep next to each other. Haku likes to play with him, they have zoomies running around.

*Aside from Noodle and co, how do you pick the cats for your paintings?*

So I have people send me photos as fan submissions. I have thousands of cat photos saved from those submissions, and I pick the ones that spark interest for me like the cat looks unique or the expression looks unique and I save it to my phone and hopefully paint it one day. I’m planning on making a Google Drive and sharing it with people so they can look through it and maybe get inspired to paint as well.

I’m online chronically as well, so whenever I see famous internet cats I save them as well, so it’s all a mixture. My favorite one right now is the Oye cate, her name is Doudou. She reminds me of Atlas so much but she’s orange, I love her.

If you want to submit your own cat photos or sign up for monthly NoodleMail, check out their about page for more information.

Imgurian @KittensForDays has been bringing us daily kitten content for 7 years now. These pawsitively adorable posts have persisted, and we couldn’t be happier. This fostering superhero shared with us how she got started, some tips and a few near-foster fails.

*How did you get into fostering?*

In 2014 our local shelter put out an APB that basically said we have 55 dogs and a lot of them have parvo so they needed to clear the shelter of dogs so they could clean the kennels and the air ducts and like everything involved. And they said, "Hey community, can you guys foster these dogs for 2 weeks so we can clean everything?” So I went and picked up a little rottweiler mix named Penny, and I took Penny home with me and I kept her for two weeks. It was a lot of work and my cats, I had two cats at the time, were not a fan of Penny.

As soon as I took Penny back to the shelter this couple came in and they adopted her right in front of my face. So I was like, "okay so fostering is fun, I’m not a dog person I did it ‘cause that’s what they needed, but I have a spare bedroom". So I asked the people at the front desk “hey do you guys foster kittens too?” and they were like yes and that was when it clicked. So I went home and I cleaned out the kitten room and like a week later I brought home my first litter.

*Any advice for people who would like to foster but might not know how to start?*

If you don’t know where to start, talk to your shelter. Talk to your humane society, because they’ve been doing this for years, and years, and years. And they can give you all the advice you could need on what kind of litter, what kind of food, how much time to spend playing with them, when to let them sleep, etc. Talk to your local shelter/humane society/rescue groups because they want you to help them so they will give you all the tools you need to be able to help them.

*Are there any kittens you've been particularly attached to?*

Yes, so there are 4 kittens that have really stuck with my heart. And the first two were named Tom and Jerry - they were older kittens. They were about 4 months old when I got them; but they had what’s called cerebellar hypoplasia which means that the cerebellum part of their brain was not developed enough as it should have been so they stumbled. But Tom and Jerry got adopted by this woman who lived on a farm with goats and chickens and pigs and cows and she had all this land that they could run around on. I knew that if they were on a farm running around, chasing after chickens, that they would get stronger and their disability wouldn’t show as much.

One was called Juniper. She was this little calico, and she had this perfect little black circle over her left eye, and she looks like a little cow ‘cause the rest of her face is light. She is actually the picture I have on my Teams account.

The other was Ravioli; I had a litter that was named after pasta, and a few of them passed away. Ravioli was always very hearty, and very strong, and then one day I came in and he was unresponsive. He wasn’t moving, he was barely breathing, and I was like oh my god. 24 hours of constant care later I walked in at 5 am and he was up. He was walking around, he was eating, he was playing. I called him my little zombie-kitten ‘cause I was certain he was going to die; I was so close to keeping him.

Imgurian @adrianontherocks is not only a long-time cat poster, but also a feline behaviorist for her local shelter. We got to sit down and ask her a few questions regarding her job in this field, some tips and tricks for cat owners, and a few stories about her own kitties.

*What does your day-to-day look like?*

An overview of the basic function of my position is to ensure that all the cats in the shelter are having their welfare and behavioral needs met. I try to spend time with every cat every day, or at least be walking around checking out their habitat or kennel and making sure they have everything that they need. Like: do they have a scratcher, appropriate-sized water dish, toys to engage with, good hiding spot. And then the ones who are more shy skittish hissy, cats who overstimulate really easily and will try to swat and bite people when they’re overstimulated or show defensive behaviors and try to sway and bite people then - those are the ones I really hone in on and spend a lot of time with and utilize positive reinforcement training, trying to get them to trust humans more. Or if they’re overstimulated cats, this hand isn’t a toy, this toy is a toy, and teaching them the difference between that.

*How did you get into this field of work?*

I started with a degree in animal behavior, and I started off working with exotic animals at zoos and sanctuaries. What actually made me switch careers was that I got injured, and I couldn’t do the physical part of the job and hated the current place I was working. Then I saw this job at the shelter working with cats that paid more money, and it was right up my alley cause cats have always been my favorite and I already knew a ton about them. So I applied and I got the job.

Shown above are her own cats: Dominic (Left), Thor (Top Right), Dany (Bottom Right)

*Advice for cat owners: tips, tricks, and treats?*

Bad cat habits are usually caused by humans not providing them with the necessary things. Cats will tolerate a poor litter box setup if they don't have a lot of other stressors in their life. If a cat isn’t feeling confident, they will want to be marking socially important locations like your living room, bedroom, and places where you are a lot that you spend a lot of time. By giving them a litterbox in the living room, by putting a scratching post right next to your couch, you're gonna decrease the chances that they do something that you don’t like such as peeing on or scratching the couch.

If you don’t know your cat, things like wand toys, or shoelaces, you don’t want to leave them unsupervised with those things until you feel confident that they aren’t going to be trying to eat it. As far as treats go, just don’t overdo it. It is nice to use the treats you’re going to give them as part of training, I do tend to think that’s better than “Here’s some treats, eat them all.” If your cat doesn’t have anything that you are training them to do, it’s still fine to give them treats: it’s a fun bonding activity for everyone.

*What is your favorite story about your pet?*

I think my absolute favorite story is actually about my cat who died, where there was one day I was taking a nap and my partner had been out and he came home but I didn’t get up or anything for ten minutes. I got up and I walked out to the living room and the front door is open like it’s just open and it’s not supposed to be because my cats are indoor only. Thor and Dany are just sitting near the door but I know that Dominic is outside. I run down the stairs and into the parking lot and he’s just standing in the middle of the parking lot, rolling around having the time of his life. And I shout his name and he just gets up and runs towards me. And I just love that: that he just wanted to be outside so bad that he just went, he didn't wander off, he didn’t do anything bad.

Imgurian @DailyStrudel is one of our Pet-A-Day posters, with their cat calendar going on for 5 years now. This wonderful ball of fluff is a staple of our cat creators. Each day is a new photo, and we got to sit down to ask about the purrfect model Strudel.

*Is there a story behind the name Strudel?*

I couldn’t say there is an actual story or anything, but my husband and I, we don’t normally give names to our cats straight away. We kind of wait and see what sticks, try different options and what not. In fact, his first name was Schnitzel, but then it transformed to Strudel because we thought it fit him more. He even had a hyphenated name for like 3-4 months it was Schnitzel-strudel; bit of a tongue twister.

*What inspired the idea for the cat calendar?*

He did, because he really liked to sit or lay down in this particular windowsill and I would take pictures and send them to my friends, and say “look he’s doing it again”. At some point I just decided I needed to add the date and name of the month because he’s doing it anyway.

*How do you get Strudel to stay so still?*

It depends, sometimes he will just lay down and be super chill and whatever “do what you want to do". And sometimes I will play with him for a while, take a pencil or pen and let him focus on the tip and he’ll look at it and I‘ll take the picture. I had a friend over at the end of October and she took pics of all my cats for memories and Strudel was the one who posed for her. He learned, he loves attention, he understands when fun stuff is being done so he’s “okay I’m taking park, I love it, lets do it". Over time he just knows what exactly is going on, will come when I call and sit down like “okay I’m ready." He knows just how handsome he is, but he's not vain in the slightest!

*What's something most user may not know about Strudel?*

I think the name, with the American vs German pronunciation. Some people think that I make him come and pose and what not, but he’s the one who is willing to do it. Out of all of my cats he’s the one who wants to do it. It won’t work with any of my other cats, it doesn’t work with Poe he just won’t sit. Strudel it works fine because he wants to participate. But he hates costumes, he hates hats, so I get asked to put a hat or costume on him but I don’t cause I don’t want to make him do something he doesn’t like. I think I should appreciate the fact that he’s willing to pose for pictures every single day of his life so that’s enough. If he’s in the mood for a costume that’s fine he’ll do it, but if he’s not he’s not, I won’t make him do it. Also, he's rather talkative and rarely gives out a single "meow", usually it's a long series of different sounds, like a whole sentence.

*If Strudel could tell Imgur users one thing, what do you think it would be?*

Take it one day at a time. Just move slowly and steadily, and even if you’re in a tough spot it will be fine in the end, just one day at a time.

Fur some extra fun, we asked everyone what their favorite meme is, and here are their top picks. While we were familiar with a few of these, it was a pleasure to discover ones we haven't seen before.

Round of appaws for making it to the end! We're very grateful to have gotten the chance to sit down with these amazing Imgurians and meow about all sorts of things. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy days to indulge us with our questions.

Who are some other Imgur cat creators that you love? Are there any other Imgurian's you'd like to learn more about? Let us know in the comments!