People who know me know that I am absolutely. Obsessed. With. Cats.

I don’t know when it began, but the older I get, the more I relate to these majestic yet quirky, beautiful creatures. I love how silly and funny they can be, and how they all have different personalities. Cats get a bad rap as ‘cold and distant’ as compared to dogs, but I think cats can be incredibly affectionate and smart to boot – the only reason you can get them to do something is because they WANT to do it. And you can’t help loving them for how they are. When you’ve gained the love and trust of a cat, that’s when you know you’ve really made it in life. lol.

Unfortunately, due to my housing arrangements, I don’t have any cats of my own (yet) – but I’m always daydreaming of the day I can finally bring a kitty home and love it as my own.

In the meantime, I’ve had to content myself with looking at cat photos and videos. Here are five of my favourite Instagram cat accounts – spread the love and cuteness!

THEEBRUNOBARTLETT

Followers: 110,000  Based in: USA

Let me just start off by saying that I AM OBSESSED WITH THESE TWO GRAY POTATOES. Dubbed Bruno and Carlo, they’re both older cats, overweight and rescues. The account started with Bruno, a polydactyl cat with an extra thumb, so it looks like he’s wearing a glove. Then the new owners were connected to a rescue centre housing Carlo, and he looked so much like Bruno they just had to adopt him (awww). Bruno looks like the bad boy of the pair, while Carlo has a wide-eyed innocence that is absolutely adorable. The owners have been working very hard to help them lose weight, but they’re still pretty chonky. The best part is that they’ve learned this neat trick of standing up on their two hind legs when they want something. When I’m having a bad day at work, I come home and look at their antics – it helps me to destress somehow and just puts a smile on my face.

MISSENELL 

Followers: 579,000   Based in: Copenhagen, Sweden

I always look forward to my daily dose of Nelly & Gilbert! Nelly is the Birman/Ragdoll aka the Queen, while Gilbert the Bengal is her ‘servant’. Most of the videos involve Nelly ‘complaining’ about Gilbert; she is extremely chirpy and talkative, with a soft mew that just melts the heart. Of course it goes without saying that they’re both gorgeous – Nelly is fluffy with white booties and slightly crossed blue eyes, while Gilbert has a beautiful orange spotted coat with striking green eyes.

BO_MANG_CO 

Followers: 237,000  Based in: South Korea

The account’s name is short for Boss, Manggo and Coco (a family of dad, mom and daughter), although Manggo is featured more prominently and is definitely the sassiest. Despite looking quite obese (she literally looks like a ball when she curls up), fans love Manggo for her sassy attitude – and she can run faster than the other two when there’s food involved. It would be good if the owners could help her lose some weight for health reasons, but then again they have never stated that Manggo is unhealthy despite her large size.

MAKINLIKESHRIMP

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzEEaV7hBqh/

Followers: 14,800  Based in: United States

I think this is a very underrated account and more people deserve to know about it! It’s dedicated to the owner’s two black cats, Daffodil and Leapfrog. The latter shot to fame on viral news outlets, thanks to her love for jumping over things at the exact same spot. They’ve put all sorts of things in her path, from people and dogs (above) to chairs and Christmas decorations. It’s quite fascinating to see:

 

KAFKA_BLACK 

Followers: 61,900    Based in : Nagoya, Japan

You guys know Toothless from the How To Train A Dragon animated series? Meet the real life Toothless – a beautiful inky black cat called Kafka. All of the posts on his IG are videos, where Kafka usually stares intently at the owner recording it, sometimes meowing. Kafka’s colouration is so black that his face ‘disappears’, so it feels like there are only two large eyes looking at you. He also has two fangs jutting out from the lower jaw when he mews, and his owner likes to dress him in nice colourful bowties which contrast nicely with his silky fur.

OMAME_MUNCHKIN 

Followers: 139,000 Based in : Japan

Another Japanese cat, Omame is a munchkin, which means that he has very short legs and a stocky body – automatically making it funny and cute when he runs or walks (like a bouncing furball, basically).  I also find Omame’s coat pattern, especially the little white patch directly underneath his mouth and on his chest, exceedingly adorable – gives him a pensive, thoughtful look.

There are actually plenty of other cat accounts that I follow – like @fatlaila, @hosico_cat, @chippie_gummy, @thesey_cat, @mami_and_morty, @merlin_griffith, and many more. Often they’re not only cute, but have unique stories – take merlin_griffith, a blind cat with eyes like the milky way, or @owl_kitty, whose owner has creatively incorporated her antics into various film and TV scenes. And then of course we have @wilfredwarrior, made famous by Michael Rapaport and his “Ma!”

If i were to list them all this post would be endless – but I recommend you check them out all the same! 🙂