Nobiya's Story

On February 19, 2011, Jordane, who worked with City Critters in New York City,

brought Nobiya to the home I shared with Wayne Mareci in midtown Manhattan.
We were going to foster him, not adopt him.

Jordane said he was the sweetest cat in the world. He had been living with a Korean family

who had to go back to Korea and couldn't take him. He was currently living at a vet's office,

because he might have some urinary issues and they had been watching him and assured
her he was healthy and fine, just needed a special diet. They guessed he was about
4 years old.

She dropped him off while I was out, and when I came home about an hour later,
she and Wayne were sitting on the floor talking with Nobiya right beside them,
apparently listening to every word.

Nobiya immediately got up and greeted me at the door and started purring and
rubbing up against me. I squatted down and started petting him, ears, head, chin,
back, feet--ouch! razor sharp claws--let's fix that--and within 5 minutes of meeting
each other for the first time, he let me trim his claws. Snip, snip, just like that,
they're done, no struggle, like he was offering them up to me.
 

I announced, “I’m keeping him.  Not fostering.  Adopting.”

I googled his name “Nobiya” and found that there was a Japanese manga
character with a similar name, and a Japanese artist by the name, and that it
also meant “sweetheart.” I figured the Korean family had children who loved
manga and named him after a cartoon character they liked, and that image
pleased me.  When I arrived in California and said his name, people laughed. 
It turns out there’s a Spanish and Tagalog version of his name that
means “girlfriend.”  Either way, he’s a sweetheart. 

In Manhattan, he lived on the 15th floor in a sunny apartment with lots of windows.

He was a happy indoor cat.

When I moved to California, the airlines required that he be on a leash inside a carrier.
I lived in California for 3 months without him, and during that time, Wayne taught him to
accept the leash and carrier. He took to it right away.

For the flight to California, all I gave him was a homeopathic remedy called Animal
Rescue that I had discovered during the previous foster fail. No sedatives. The trip
turned out to take 10 hours, with long delays, but he was quiet the whole way. He
made 2 little peeps at one point during the flight, and he didn't want to eat anything,
and his eyes were wide open the whole time, but he was taking it all in.

We arrived late at night.  The next morning I thought, “I should show him where he lives

now, let him smell the air, the ground, the plants, let him get his bearings.  He seems
okay on his leash.  Let’s try it!”

I put his leash on with ease, and opened the door, and he trotted down the hall like
it was the most natural thing in the world.  I opened the hall door to the outside stairs,
and off he went.

I thought it would be a one-time experience, but the next day, he was at the door
meowing, and it became our morning ritual.

After about a year, he had to have some teeth removed, and the vet told me I
should brush his teeth.  

I decided the only way I could make myself do it was to make it part of our ritual. 
Brush my teeth, brush his teeth, put on his leash, and out we go.  He accepted it.

Some mornings, he even jumped up on the bathroom counter, watched me brush
my teeth, and waited for me to brush his.  He would curl his lip up on the right side,
and let me brush, then move to the left.  He was never as good with the left side,
and resisted a bit, but still let me brush.

Then he would go into the entryway, jump up on the bench and wait for me to put
his leash on.

Over the years, we’ve varied the routine a bit depending on circumstances, but it’s
been essentially the same for 7 years, and we’ve only missed a few days.


I call him "King Nobi." He seems to have accepted that the tooth-brushing and walking
is what I do as his loyal servant, in addition, of course, to the chores ordinary cats have
their people do (feeding and litter box maintenance).

He is a wonderful companion, and we have had many happy adventures together.