Behind every cat story is a cat purrson: Meet Blake and his heartwarming strays of I Can Has Cheezburger

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Sep 20, 2026 10:15 AM EDT

I'm not just a cat lover. I love all animals equally (except sharks).

My story with cats and animals starts from basically the time I was born. My mom was an animal lover and turned my dad into one as well. When I was born, my parents had two dogs and one cat. I grew up learning to stand by holding on to Honey Bear, our golden retriever's, fur for balance, and learned how to throw a ball so Ocea, our black lab mix, could play fetch with me. My parents still tell me stories of how Aurora, our cat at the time (whom I barely remember), used to nap with me in the crib.

At 3 years old, I got my first cat. You've probably heard me tell this story in previous posts, but I'll tell it again for those of you who are new here. My parents went out on a date night to go to the movie theater. While walking back to their car, my mom heard some tiny, weak meows coming from behind the theater's dumpster. She pulled out a tiny tortoiseshell kitten and made such sad faces at my dad that he allowed her to take the kitten home. They introduced us, and at that point, I knew all cats as "Meow," and so that became her name.

Meow lived until I was 21 years old. She was my soul cat. I really felt like I could communicate with her. I would spend hours telling her about my days at school when I wanted to procrastinate on doing my homework. We had many cats throughout my childhood, namely two rescue cats named 'Africa' and 'Felix', but Meow was my cat. I fed her, cleaned her litter box, and even I built a house for her in the garage if she wanted to escape from everyone and have some quiet time.

I keep Meow's legacy alive by helping the cats that need it the most. I take care of several stray cat colonies in my community, trapping them for TNR (trap-neuter-return), and feeding them. Currently, my home is not conducive to having a cat full-time (more on that below), so I try to give back in the ways that I can.

There may or may not be a surprise down below…. just remember, I told you that I love all animals.

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01
Me and my family in the 1990s with our cat, Meow

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My sister (left), me (middle), my mom (right) and Meow walking through the frame like the diva she was. I think this picture was taken around 1996.
02
Early 90s picture of me, our nanny, and the cat

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03
Meow

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Meow had real “tortitude." She didn't accept any nonsense from anyone, but she loved me. She didn't love to play so much, but she loved to hunt. She would sneak out to bring us “presents." My mom hated them! Nobody likes waking up to find a… bird… on your front porch, but now we know that it was a sign of love. I cared for her more than the world itself. It was heartbreaking when she passed. She waited for me to come home from college during my first year to say goodbye.
04
Meow patrolling our deck

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05
Feeding some strays in a park near my neighborhood

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I always carry a bit of cat food with me in case I find some hungry strays. You never know when it's going to come in handy!
06
Felix, one of our other rescue cats

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Below is a picture of my sister, probably around 10 years old. This was taken around 2000.
07
Cheetoh

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Cheetoh is a stray orange cat that I brought in for TNR a few years ago. I have no idea if his name is Cheetoh, but that's what I call him. We've been pals for a long time now, he always runs up to me with the cutest chirps and mrrrows whenever I see him.
08
Puppy

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Puppy is a chonky street cat that loves to sleep on my balcony sometimes. Especially when the weather gets cold, I can call his name and he'll usually come running. He doesn't love a ton of physical affection, but I know he appreciates the warmth and safety I can give him when he needs it.
09
Well, the cat's out of the bag now...

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My rescue dog, Raja
The biggest secret I have as the Managing Editor of I Can Has Cheezburger? is that I am a dog owner. I adopted Raja when she was just a puppy - a friend of a friend found her outside of a gas station, all alone, when she was only 9 weeks old. I couldn't resist her adorable face, and you know I can't turn my back on an animal in need. I adopted her.
We have no knowledge of her family history, but as she grew, we understood that she must have come from a family of feral dogs. She has extreme anxiety and is reactive around other dogs (and cats), so we have to stay a one-animal household for now. I hope that in the near future we can bring in a kitten that she will treat like her own baby!
10
More of Raja (my baby)

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Come on, look at that face!
11

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She reminds me a lot of Meow. They are both so sassy! I wonder where they get it from…
12
"All that fur certainly didn't come from me, dad..."

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