Aries and Azure - my cats' adoption story

“Meooooow!” a tiny orange and white kitten demanded at me with a screechy yet adorable meow. He wanted something but I couldn’t figure out what.

I was at Meow Parlour, a charming cat cafe in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I had just quit my job where I had been very stressed out. To seek respite from being freshly unemployed, I came to Meow Parlour with my girlfriend Sara.

I thought I’d be the one chasing after kittens to pet them and make them play with toys. Instead, the tables were turned with a little kitten demanding something from me.

“What is it, little guy?” I asked while reaching out to pet him. The kitty was on top of a tower and looking eagerly at me.

Instead of responding verbally, the kitty started climbing on my arm. He carefully trekked across my arm and onto my lap, then onto the ground. He must’ve been too afraid to jump off the tower and had asked me for help to get down. The orange kitten rubbed his head on my hand and leg, and my heart slowly began to melt.

“Aw, I’m gonna take this one home,” I said jokingly to Sara. “Let’s ask the people at the desk if they’re up for adoption!” she replied.

My stomach turned at the thought of this massive responsibility. I had entertained the idea of getting a cat for a long time, but I never felt quite ready for the commitment, let alone now while freshly unemployed.

But this time... it felt different. It felt like the cat was the one choosing me. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask an employee.

“The orange and white one? Oh, that’s Azure. And he has a twin brother from the same litter too - that one named Aries. We adopt bonded kittens in pairs, so if you’re interested in applying to adopt, you would have to take both of them.”

Hold up... both of them?! The thought of committing to adopt one cat was scary enough, but two?

Nevertheless, I gave in to their cuteness. Within a few days, I was approved to bring Aries and Azure home as the newest additions to my family.

On the very first night home with the kitties, I was woken up in the middle of the night. It was a cat.

Azure? I figured it’d be the demanding kitty asking for my attention again. When I turned on my phone’s light, I was surprised to see it was actually Aries.

If you look up “orange cat” in an encyclopedia, it should have a picture and description of Aries. He is as orange as an orange cat can get.

At night, Aries often wakes me up, demanding cuddles. He would rub his head and wet mouth all over my face, gently plop his body next to me, and fall asleep with his little head on my shoulder.

During the day, Aries stirs up trouble. He’s especially shameless when it comes to eating. He would eat random scraps from the floor and try to snatch food from plates. Sara made an Instagram reel of Aries trying to steal pizza from me. As of today, it has nearly two million views and one hundred thousand likes - the true mark of a little orange terror!

Despite being a funny menace at times, Aries is so amazingly affectionate and caring. Azure and Aries are the perfect cat brothers that deeply love each other, and I cannot picture having one cat without the other.

Both cats have become truly special parts of the family. At first, I was afraid of committing to having them. Now, I can’t picture my life without them. The kitties have helped to foster a happier life at my home with myself and my girlfriend. I have a new job now, and I still feel stressed from time to time. But whenever I pet those two adorable orange kitties, all my problems slowly fade away.

To this day, Azure makes his demands known by meowing at me, every single day, just like our first ever meeting at Meow Parlour. There’s no better feeling than coming home to Aries and Azure eagerly greeting me, headlined by Azure’s signature screechy “meooooow!”