What better day to revive our Pet Sounds column than National Pet Day? We love all pets, but here at Exclaim!, all of us with furry companions share our homes with cats. Our Slack chat is constantly filled with photos of our felines invading our workspaces — it truly is a wonder anything gets done around here.
Check out our staffers' cats below, which include a tortie who hates Radiohead, a teenager with a Simpsons-inspired name and a real-life Benjamin Button sitting pretty at 21 years young. Thanks to Billboard for giving us the idea.
Sydney Brasil, Social Editor
Monty, 1
- Named after Mr. Burns from The Simpsons
- Newest member of the Exclaim! pet club (just adopted in January)
- Zooms at lightning speed but purrs like a motorboat when he feels like cuddles
- Likes getting his butt smacked and his rainbow string
- Good hang when friends come over
Allie Gregory, Managing Editor
Dilly (Dandelion), 8
- Loves lady-leggin' and eating croissants
- Hates Radiohead (this is true) and whistling
- Would jump in front of a car for the insurance payout
- Karen
Alex Hudson, Editor-in-Chief
Stripes (left), 9, and Dusty (right), 7
- Stripes doesn't like cuddles but greets us at the door like a dog and asks to be petted by splooting with her back legs out. She's nicknamed "Goose" because of her weird meow that sounds like a honk/quack. She likes chewing guitar stands and turns 10 later this month.
- Much of my writing is done with Dusty curled up on my lap, which he never did until the pandemic but is now obsessed with cuddling. He was named Dusty because he had a grey fluffy belly when he was a kitten, but the grey went away with age, and so now his name is kinda random. He likes kisses on the mouth. He turns 8 sometime this spring.
Megan LaPierre, Associate Online Editor
Cobalt, 7
- Loves yogurt
- Happiest in a blanket fort (he was the runt of the litter and his siblings used to sit on him)
- Very afraid of strangers, especially boyfriends
- Has resting concerned face but is also aspirational at relaxing
Katerina Mina, Project Manager
Peppi, 4
- Found her outside the "Periptero" (Greek supermarket) as a baby while I was out for a walk, instantly fell in love, so I put food in a box, she climbed in, and I walked her 10 mins back home. (That's why she's called Peppi.)
- Rolls on her back every time before she eats
- Will headbutt you and bite your nose as a sign of love
- DESPISES MEAT — pescatarian only
- Also, LOVES to chill outside right before sunset
Karlie Rogers, Staff Writer
Olympia, 16(?)
- Showed up on my parents' front porch on the evening of the closing of the Vancouver Olympics and has never left
- Had kittens after arriving, does not like her son to this day
- Loves watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- Very good at meditating
Lisa Vanderwyk, Head of Partnerships
Buttercup (Butter, left) and Marigold (Goldy, right), 5
- Adopted at Toronto Cat Rescue together
- We think (and say) they're sisters
- They're best friends!
Sabrina White, Circulation Manager
Kitty (Mazzy, top), 11, and Meeka (bottom), 21
- Meeka is 21 years young, and might be the real-life Benjamin Button
- We went to a humane society "blow-out" sale back in 2014 just to "look at the dogs," and that's how you end up spending $25 on a cat
- Doesn't like human food except for lasagna, so I guess she's also giving Garfield
- Kitty is around 11 and acts like she's two
- Showed up on our back porch in October 2022, and by November, we brought her to the vet and adopted her
- Loves cottage cheese (gotta get your protein in...). I mean, she loves all food but especially cottage cheese
- They both love each other, which is so cute because they met late in their lives, and cats being cats don't always get along — they're sisters
Office Cat
Johnny LaRue, Age Unknown
- Lives in the apartment above the office
- If we leave the door open, he marches in like he owns the place
- Has veto power on all editorial decisions