A cool cat named Nokio

He walks with a swagger.
He looks at you with his intense, glow-in-the-dark, yellow-green eyes. He’s got fabulous, well-groomed mane, smart, fluffy ears and sexy whiskers. He’s quite a cool cat. His name is Nokio.

"Nokio was born on May 14, 2000 in Ontario, Canada," Josef Paul Yorro, 23-year-old Filipino-Canadian student at the University of Toronto, introduces the youngest member of the Yorro brood based in Markham, Ontario. "His adoption papers suggested that he was named Chicken by his previous owners, but we felt we already get enough of that at KFC. Having agreed on his new moniker, we welcomed Nokio into our home when he was merely 12 weeks old. Three years later, he’s grown, er, ballooned to a hefty 13.5-lb. furball of mischief and warmth."

Chicken, er, Nokio was just a wisp of a kitten when Chito and Chelle Yorro and their children Millicent Ann and Josef Paul saw him, fell desperately in love with him and decided to adopt him and give him a home he could call his own (but more on that later). Three years and tons of cat food later, Nokio has grown to a spherical bundle of joy. Talk about fat cats. (Truth of the matter is, some cats in Canada eat better than most marginalized Filipino families; the cost of a month’s supply of cat food is enough to feed an average Pinoy family for a whole month. And Canadian cats are treated far better than our own stray cats, some of whom are kicked around and maltreated. In Toronto, the story of a cat who was tortured by a group of young people recently created a stir. The juvenile perpetrators were immediately hauled to jail, but that’s another long story.) Nokio packed on the pounds faster than anyone could say Cat Formula and became near-obese that his astonished vet had to put him on a reducing diet. Blame it on the treats that thoughtful owner Millicent Ann would give Nokio at the slightest hint of a whine.

"Nokio’s not just your typical cat – heck, even his meows sound charmingly odd," Josef Paul goes on with his cat tale.

"I haven’t heard him meow like other cats do," says Chelle, who sometimes wonders if Nokio is really a human trapped in a cat’s body. "When he’s hungry or he wants something badly, he does not meow, he whimpers like a baby."

To the Yorros, Nokio’s "quite a multi-purpose character, actually." Says Nokio’s big brod Josef Paul, "He’s also a pillow, study partner (keeping JP company as this A student reviews for exams), foot warmer, alarm clock (his whining at exactly 6 a.m. every day to ask for his breakfast wakes up the Yorro couple who have to leave home for work at 8 a.m. – once, however, he didn’t wake up the couple and they were both late for work), quasi-teddy bear, spoiled baby (who often gets what he wants, especially from Daddy Chito who loves spoiling him), fly catcher, anti-depressant."

As the newest addition to the Yorro family, Nokio gets more than his fair share of doting and pampering. Clear proofs are the Yorro photo albums and CDs that are full of Nokio’s photos. Spending his second nippy white Christmas with the Yorros last year, Nokio got a stuffed mouse and a laser toy as Christmas presents. And apparently, this dude loves basking in the attention.

"He definitely isn’t camera-shy," notes Josef Paul. "Our PC’s desktop wallpapers are a testament to that. And if he so happens to be on the 2004 Cat Calendar as that gray-and- white feline wearing a red collar while sleeping in a basket in the month of July, his caption might read something like this: Likes – shoeboxes, sleep, microwave-heated cat food, dangly things, bouncy things (he’s got a collection of toy balls, all gifts from his adoptive family), sleep, other cats, my parents’ bed (Nokio often joins the couple in bed at 3 a.m., often snuggling up close to Chelle’s feet), protein (as richly supplied by the insects/birds in the Yorro backyard), and did I mention sleep? Dislikes – no one to play with, thunderstorms, citrus smells, people poking his belly when he’s trying to nap."

The Yorros confess that it’s never been the same since Nokia came into their lives. Now, they can’t go out of town together because one has to keep Nokio company at home. In the Yorro home, Nokio’s got his favorite lounging chairs where nobody can pry him loose from, not even with a crowbar. "You don’t own the cat, the cat owns you," asserts a beaming Millicent Ann.

Except perhaps for Josef Paul, everybody’s social life is now zero. Chito rushes home from work at State Farm or from golf to take Nokio out to play almost every day. Chelle and Millicent Ann make sure there’s always something for Nokio when they do their groceries. Millicent Ann remembers to remind Mommy when Nokio’s cat food supply is running low. "We don’t want him to get used to human food," Chelle points out. Which, of course, doesn’t stop Nokio from sticking his paws into a cob of peaches-and-cream corn which he just loves.

Now you know why the Yorros say that theirs is a purr-fect family.