There are a lot of reasons why someone may not want a pet. Sometimes it’s because the time and money isn’t right (pets are a commitment,) and other times they think they wouldn’t like a particular animal. Sometimes it’s because of a recent loss.
But every time someone thinks they don’t want a pet and they end up with that pet anyway, the connection becomes real. There is something cats have that is impossible not to adore, all it really takes is the right cat, and cats are good at choosing the right humans.
Clearly for the California family we are excited to tell you about today, it was fate.
Imgur user bagofgrapes titled his post, “The cat I never wanted probably saved my life.”
And then the story he shared took us on one heck of a wild, emotional ride.
Imgurians, meet Lucifer Meowingstar – named by my wonderful wife and yes, he’s named after a TV show. Fun fact about this turd: I didn’t really want him, my wife did. So here’s a classic “he wasn’t a cat guy until he was” story about how I wasn’t a cat guy… until I was.
Earlier last year, my wife and I adopted a different cat, not pictured. We got him home, I spent an hour with him on our bathroom floor while my wife shopped for all the essentials.
We absolutely pampered him, and I fell in love. Later that evening, we took him to the vet for an exam. We found out the cat we just adopted wasn’t 3 years old, he was actually 9.
He also had a chronic gum disease the shelter failed to mention that required him to be fed through a syringe for the rest of his life. The cost? $3500 annually, something my wife and I just couldn’t afford on retail paychecks. We had to take him back to the shelter.
Now I don’t know what your version of hell looks like, but I visited mine that day. Walking him back into the shelter, in the same box we rescued him in, was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I’m a grown man, and I was in tears trying to explain to them the care he requires.
Before I left, he peaked his little head out the box and it hit me – I let him down. The next few months, I entered a terrible depression. I gained weight, I felt like the worst human, and to my wife’s dismay, I decided I’d never get a cat again.
Enter Lord Lucifer, 3 months old and ready for business. My wife sent me this picture of a cat looking to be rescued.
I told her how much I didn’t want to go see him, but she kept telling me “I have a different feeling about this one.” And if any of you know anything about marriage, we drove 20 miles in LA traffic… on a weekday… to meet a cat.
Surprise, we adopted him. And honestly, there was something really different about this cat. He loves watching sports (hockey especially) and Disney movies. Aristocats is his shit and he’ll whine if I turn it off.
He’s also a little cuddle monster. The guy had to be bottle fed as a kitten because he loves human interaction.
With my wife (pictured above, left) he’ll lay right next to her and watch shows. With me and only me, he lays on my chest and occasionally make biscuits in my neck.
Strange, right? I thought it was a weird quirk of his and I’ve tried to get him to stop. Until last Sunday.
I decided to lay down during the day and take a nap. Lucifer and I were alone, when suddenly I stopped breathing. I have sleep apnea and nocturnal epileptic seizures, which is super fun. Typically my wife will shake me awake, or my body will kick me out of paralysis and open my airways to breathe again.
I remember laying on the couch, gasping for air, feeling like my throat was closing tighter and tighter. I wasn’t panicking because I knew if I just wait, my body would kick in and help. It didn’t. It’s a wild ride being conscious as this stuff happens.
“As I started to panic a bit, I felt something hitting my chest.”
Lucifer, the fucking cat I didn’t really want, took his paws and started jumping on my chest and throat. He must’ve did this for a solid 20 seconds before my airways opened and my body kicked in. As I started to breathe normally again, he dug his little head under my chin and went back to sleep.
Honestly, I’d like to think my body was just a little late to the party in kicking me out of whatever the fuck that was. But what if it wasn’t? What if this cat really did save me? Lucifer was my little hero this weekend, and I love every fiber of his being.
Fine, I’m a cat guy.
The wholesome, heartwarming story of this heroic, precious cat blew up. Almost 100,000 people on the original Imgur post alone saw it!
He came back the next morning, overwhelmed to see the responses on his post and shared Lucifer’s Instagram account, something his wife had set up long before Lucifer saved his life. So, we reached out, eager to learn more about Lucifer and share this incredible story.
We asked what it was like to wake up to have so many people see the post, and she told us:
My husband posted it initially to get some emotions out before going to bed, but never imagined it would blow up like that overnight.
The comments were really reassuring, hearing others going through the same thing with our first cat.
We both woke up surprised, and the first thing we wanted to do was hug Lucifer and tell him he’s gone viral. lol
We asked more about Lucifer’s purrsonality and what he likes.
Anything with a feather.
Lucifer has exceptional taste.
She also said:
We never had to teach him, but he likes to play fetch with us and high-fives us after a treat.
Somehow, we aren’t surprised that Lucifer is super duper smart.
Sometimes when a cat goes viral, that’s when they get an Instagram account, but Lucifer already had one!
We initially gave him an Instagram account because we wanted to share with friends and family our journey with our first pet, but since joining, we’ve found many black cat friends and love being part of de-stigmatizing the superstitions surrounding black cats.
And about that peculiar name? You’ll love this!
We named him after Lucifer the TV show because sometimes he acts like a little devil, but he’s really the sweetest, most loving cat.
Fun fact: Lucifer loves sweaters! Every time he gets anxious, sweaters and hugs always calm him down.
You can keep up with Lucifer by following him here on Instagram!
If you loved his story, don’t forget to share with your friends and family!
