Cat Chic Week 15: The humans of @cats_of_instagram
Published over 8 years ago by Shannon Lee
Happy first Caturday of 2016! 2016… remember how far way that used to sound?? Shouldn’t we all own hoverboards and wear silver galactic uniforms by now?? Maybe that all happens in 2017 – a lot can happen in a year.
And what a year 2015 was. There was laughter, there were tears, and there were lots of beautiful, routine moments that we probably missed because we were too busy looking at our phones. Today we shine the spotlight on someone who did his part to nurture both our obsession with cats and our shameless phone addiction: Eli Omidi of cats_of_instagram. With over 5.2 million followers (or roughly the population of Norway) cats_of_instagram proves that people love cat photos. They really really do. As you know, there’s nothing like an adorable furry mug to brighten up a dreary day.
When we met Eli and his gorgeous girlfriend Nadine, they seemed down to earth in a way you wouldn’t expect from Instagram royalty. Interestingly, they don’t currently have a cat because of the mountain lions and coyotes that populate the hilly area where they live. For the time being they make do with 2 dogs with dreams of one day adding a Ragdoll kitty to the family. Business partner, the lovely Kady Lone, will be featured in an upcoming Caturday Cat Chic article.
A self-proclaimed travel aficionado who loves music, good conversation and meeting new people, we couldn’t tell whether he met the crazy cat person criteria. So of course, we had to ask: cat people are believed to be introverted, antisocial, nerdy and crazy – how are you different?
Nadine: (giggling sweetly) I don’t think we’re different!
Eli: We definitely have a nerdy side to us, but I feel like it’s our responsibility to fight that stereotype, so every time I hear that I’m like no, not at all. Cat people can be anyone. You don’t have to be nerdy or introverted or have five cats – anyone can love a cat.
Having sorted through hundreds of thousands of cat photos in his life, we think Eli is quite the expert in the cat social media world. We’ll take his words to heart.