Furry tales from cat lovers
There’s a joke that captures the difference between cats and dogs. Dogs think, “These people feed me, take care of me, love me—they must be God.” Cats think, “These people feed me, take care of me, love me—I must be God.”
Cats have always commanded human devotion.
In ancient Egypt, kings and pharaohs dressed them in gold and even let them eat from their plates. Cats were frequently depicted in tomb paintings—with some found mummified, resting perpetually with their humans.
Nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale kept as many as 60 felines at once. She believed in the therapeutic power of cats and was reported to have said that “cats possess more sympathy and feeling than human beings.”
Freddie Mercury, who once kept as many as 10 cats at the same time, would call home while he was on tour with Queen so he could speak to his favorite felines. He gave his cats Christmas presents and even wrote a song about one of them: “You’re all claws and you bite/That’s alright/Delilah, you’re the apple of my eye.”
Taylor Swift’s adorable cats—Meredith Gray, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button—are almost as famous as she is. When the singer was named TIME Person of the Year in 2023, one of her magazine covers featured Benjamin Button draped around her neck.
Fashion designer and Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld loved his cat Choupette so much that he told CNN he would marry her if he could. He pampered Choupette—she dined with Lagerfeld at the table, eating from Goyard dishes, and she had her own staff which included two personal maids and a driver. When Lagerfeld died in 2019, he left a portion of fortune to Choupette. Not that she hasn’t earned her keep—the furry fashion icon has reportedly made millions in her own ad campaigns and continues to model today.
It’s not just famous people who are enamored with cats. My grandpa Osing liked bringing home stray cats—a trait I inherited from him. I’ve brought kittens home from school, from mall parking lots, from busy streets. They joined the clowder in the garage of our old house—over a dozen cats and kittens who came and went as they pleased but were always present for meals.
My cousin Fifi Cruz grew up with dogs. It’s her husband Ron who’s always been a cat lover—but that wasn’t enough to convert her. During the pandemic, a pregnant cat began visiting her as she tended to her plants outside. Eventually, both mom and baby kept coming around. Fifi and Ron started feeding them and bought them a little cat house and a litter box so they could live just outside their door.
During a typhoon, Fifi was worried they’d get drenched so she let them enter the house for the first time. That was three years ago. They never left.
Today, Doja and Stevens (yes, as in Doja Cat and Cat Stevens) are pampered indoor cats. Fifi and Ron love them so much they even inspired the name of the bar they opened: Fat Cat. (The bar’s first signature drink was called Doja.) They’ve opened two more bars since, still with feline-themed names—El Gato and Cattery.
Cats have a way of sneaking into our lives—and our hearts—and staying there. These featured cat lovers are proof of that.
Regina Belmonte
Writer and UNKNWN and CC: Concepts co-founder Regina Belmonte always considered herself a dog person until she met R5, a chubby ginger stray who lived in the guardhouse of her condo. “It always made my day to see him. We came home from a vacation to find out he’d been adopted and that’s what made me want an orange boy of my own,” she told STAR Lifestyle.
She and her fiancé share their home with two cats: Colby and Cosima. “That’s the maximum my condo will allow, ha ha! They’ve really made the condo feel like home. It’s always been a warm place, but the cats kicked the joy up a notch. There’s nothing better than opening the front door to find them there waiting for us.”
Colby, a half-British Shorthair, half-Persian Garfield lookalike, is named after both footballer Colby Bishop and Colby Jack cheese. “He’s the gentlest cat to ever walk the earth,” said Regina. “He doesn’t bite, doesn’t scratch, is unproblematic and sweet, and every groomer who’s handled him has said he is the nicest cat they’ve met.”
Cosima—nicknamed Simi—is a clingy calico stray they adopted from Cats of BGC last year. “I knew the second I picked her up and she screamed in the carrier the whole walk home that she had buckets of personality. She’s affectionate and sweet but also—and I say this lovingly—sometimes an absolute menace. She’s the naughty one at home, which makes life a lot more interesting.”
Regina did a lot of research to make sure they could properly introduce the two. “They were friends within five days. Our vet said we’re very lucky that our cats really like each other.”
Colby and Simi enjoy six small meals a day, regular checkups and grooming, plus endless snuggles. “We just love them so much and want to give them the best possible lives we can provide,” said Regina.
The hardest part? “The knowledge that my time with them is brief and borrowed... The most challenging thing is knowing that I’m setting myself up for inevitable heartbreak someday. But it’s just so worth it.”
She added: “I joke sometimes that my psychiatrist should have prescribed a cat along with my Lexapro at the height of my clinical depression, because caring for these cats has brought me so much peace and purpose. No matter how bad my day is, things always seem so much more manageable when a cat is purring on your lap... Having them in my home and in my life has given me a kind of joy I never knew before, and I’m just so grateful that they are my cats.”
Maribel Ongpin
Maribel Ongpin, chairman emeritus and CEO of HABI: The Philippine Textile Council, first fell in love with cats during World War II. Her cousin’s family fled to Baguio, bringing a cat that captivated young Maribel with its quiet charm.
After the war, a neighbor left a black cat named Muning with her family. Maribel and her sisters adored Muning and her kittens, even creating a newspaper called “The Catlandia Herald” in their honor.
Today, Maribel has seven cats, all rescues. The eldest is Orange, around 10 years old. “She’s a loving and undemanding pussycat that gives no trouble,” said Maribel.
Others include Tuding, rescued from her house’s air space in Tuding, Itogon; Manny, saved by her cook; and Quara and Tintin, pandemic rescues. Quara later had two kittens, Hansel and Hans.
The latest rescue, Francis, was from a parking area in Rockwell. “He was found by Rina Ortiz, the animal welfare rescue heroine. He was a Siamese kitten, all white with a brown nose. We called him Francis because I picked him up on Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis.”
Francis and Maribel have a nightly routine: “He massages me with his paws, a softly drumming move peculiar to cats called kneading.”
She also has rescue dogs, who live peacefully with the cats. The cats enjoy a custom-built “cat condominium”—a sunlit space with shelves, cushions, and views of nature, designed to keep them safe and content.
Maribel said, “What I love about cats is they are not demanding or imposing, but companionable, adjusting to your moods in their quiet way and showing affection in subtle ways. They give me comfort, ease, and satisfaction with their company.”
Lisa Ongpin-Periquet
Like her mom Maribel, Lisa Ongpin-Periquet, co-founder of Art Fair Philippines, Art in the Park, and Salcedo Market, also loves cats. “Cats have been in my life since day one. They add so much delight to my day.”
And how many does she have? “I’d rather not state a specific number as I will appear to be a crazy cat person. When I move around the house, there’s always a cat hanging out somewhere: along the corridor, in my workspace, my bedroom, the kitchen, etc.”
Many of her cats are rescues. “They are all ages, the latest ones being just under a year old—Thomas and Tiger—entrusted to me by the receptionists at the salon I frequent.”
Thomas had been found crying while clinging to a tree along McKinley Road while Tiger was rescued from a transport terminal in Makati.
Lisa has three ginger kittens that were rescued from a golf course, three part-Siamese kittens found in a box on a sidewalk in their subdivision, and two kittens found under a car just outside their house. Friends also pass along strays they can’t keep.
Her oldest cat Dahlia, a Scottish Fold, was a birthday gift from her husband—who once claimed to be allergic but now takes allergy meds just to live with cats. Lisa considers Dahlia, who she’s had since 2014, the queen of all her cats. Another Scottish Fold, Scottie, came from Ukraine as a 21st birthday gift for their daughter. Sherlock, a massive British Shorthair, was a gift for Lisa’s husband.
Asked what’s the best thing about having cats, Lisa said, “Their quiet companionship and loyalty.”
Ely Buendia
Musician Ely Buendia is enamored with cats. “I love how funny, independent, weird, and cute they are,” he told STAR Lifestyle.
His love affair with felines started because of his sister. “She bought one and that was it. I just had to have one for myself.”
Cats have become a big part of Ely’s home. “They’re family. They make life a little easier, more fun.”
He has six—each with its own unique personality. “Nero is the cranky one because of his age, but is super malambing also. Nero tried to run away from home but thankfully I found him the next day. Rory I adopted and is just the cutest. He likes to stand on his hind legs. Quincy is the most eccentric but very malambing. He can carry on a whole conversation with you. Whiskey is by far the sweetest and the only one who greets me with a head butt.”
His cat Ripley is a real lady, said Ely. “You can’t be aggressive with her. But when she’s in the mood, be prepared to give her your full attention. Zelda is actually my son’s and is the youngest of the cats. I love her, she’s always ready to mingle.”
Do his cats get along? “Well they’re cats, what do you think?” he said, laughing.
He describes life with his cats as “heaven.” “My favorite is when they sit on my lap when I’m watching TV and when they sleep beside me.”
And what’s the craziest thing he’s done for his feline companions? “I bought expensive things for them that they don’t even use.”
Gemma Cruz-Araneta
In the wake of World War II, the homes of Gemma Cruz-Araneta’s grandfathers were reduced to rubble and so they found refuge in Sampaloc, Manila, in the house of Gabriel Beato Francisco. “He was my maternal grandmother’s father. In that house lived Uncle Felix, then a young boy who played the piano and loved cats. He gave me my first pet—a yellow and white puspin (pusang Pinoy or Filipino cat) I named Willow,” the beauty queen and former Tourism Secretary told STAR. “Since then, I have had a number of feline companions.”
She has three cats now. Milonga, a disabled calico cat who runs fast, jumps and climbs on three legs, was given to her by her niece Carmen Cruz. “When Milonga wants affectìon, she pats my leg with a paw. She purrs louder than the two other cats.”
Then there’s Jarocho, a butterball that she bought from Nancy Cu Unjieng’s cat shelter. Merengue, a white cat with a yellow tail, ears and spot on his back, used to be her granddaughter Uma’s. “She rescued him from sure death in front of Saudi Arabia’s embassy. It wasn’t easy for Milonga and Jarocho to accept him. But all three now live in harmony.”
Each cat has favorite nooks in Gemma’s home. “Merengue loves to sleep on the east side windowsill, Milonga goes to the highest bookshelf, and Jarocho lounges all over. At night, he curls up in a corner of my bed.”
Jarocho is Gemma’s most affectionate cat. “When he loses sight of me, he goes about meowing and meowing soulfully until he hears me calling his name.”
