There is a white cat in Muscat. She is smart, gifted with special skills and has a big fan following on social media. She easily attracts pet lovers, while others get attracted out of curiosity to ensure that she is real and not a battery-operated toy.
Going by her social media accounts, she has 1.1 million followers on TikTok; 225,000 on Instagram; 50,400 on Twitter; 16,000 on Facebook; and 1,300 on YouTube.
She is special in the way that she is blind. Moet the cat surprises followers with her perfection of reaching for her food, navigating the house and even hunting the bugs and catching a fly despite being blind.
“She definitely has some quirks, such as sleeping in the fruit bowl on my coffee table (a much-loved habit with her followers). However, I feel Moet has the ability to 'see' without eyes. She can be incredibly perceptive and uses her other senses to seek things out and get what she wants. She is also a great hunter and I have often seen her in the garden swatting at bugs or even catching a fly. It is incredible to watch,” says Moet’s owner Emily Shotter.
“Moet is very cute, and without eyes, often looks like a stuffed toy! She also has a unique meow, and it was one of these videos that helped her go viral a few years ago. She has a diva-like personality and demands attention. It's Moet's way or the highway and I think her fans love that about her,” says Emily explaining the cat’s popularity on the Internet.
Commenting on the challenges of rearing a blind cat, Moet’s owner said, “Honestly there aren't that many 'challenges'. Moet finds her food, the litter box, her beds and toys perfectly well. There are a few things I have done to my house to make it safe, such as enclosing the stairwell, so she can't fall through the bannisters, enclosing my garden so that it's a safe space for her to explore and also making sure there's nowhere she can fall. It can also be important to keep things in the same place as much as possible, as blind cats form a mental map of their surroundings, thus allowing them to navigate so well. That doesn't mean I never get new things or move things around, but not often and I will sometimes 'show' Moet the new arrangement, for her to become familiar with them. But, if I didn't, she wouldn't take too long to adjust.”
Emily put Moet on social media back in 2015, initially on Twitter, and when she realised she was gaining traction, she opened her Instagram account in 2018, followed by Facebook and eventually TikTok. Primarily her goal was to raise awareness of blind cats, by showing people just how amazing they are.
Moet and her owner Emily are 'members' of Omani Paws, a group of animal lovers who come together to help to rescue and rehome abandoned or neglected cats and also help community cats and dogs with TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), and treat those animals who are sick or injured.
“This is all carried out on the back of generous donations from like-minded people. We, therefore, donate regularly but more importantly, give 100 per cent of the profits from Moet's merchandise store sales to Omani Paws. We also have a book out ‘Moet the Blind Cat’s Rules for Cat Owners' – a small illustrated book essential for every cat owner – written from the cat’s perspective of course. We donate all of the profits from these book sales to Omani Paws also. ... And watch this space for a short storybook coming out this year,” she says.
@patkaushal
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