I don’t know about you, but I’m simply crazy for Oriental Shorthair cats. Those long and lanky bodies, big ears, and cool personalities make this cat breed a standout that speaks straight to my cat lover heart. For Hugo, Toivo, and Hannu, they’re three super cool Oriental Shorthair cats living their best nine lives in Finland. I came across their adorable photos on Instagram, and reached out to their owner hoping to feature this purrfect trio here on my site. Thankfully they agreed, so everyone meet the Meowrientals! And I’m sure you’ll agree, each one of them is cuter than the next!
1. Can you tell me a little about each of their personalities?
Hugo (white) is our daughter’s best friend. He is the oldest, and the most calm and intelligent one. He loves food and always tries to steal from others if he finishes first. He purrs a lot and loves to get belly scratches. He’s a bit serious and doesn’t have a sense of humor the way the other two do.
Toivo (black) has lots of opinions about everything and he tells them to us with his loud voice every day. He likes to spend time on our shoulders. He’s the only one of them who isn’t obsessed with food. He also lets our daughter to play with him. Hannu (ticked) is the youngest one and a bit babyish still. He loves toes, he head bumps our toes all the time and usually wakes us in the morning by attacking our toes. Although he is the youngest, he is the most dominant one and tries to boss around his brothers. He has a special ability to lose his precious toy mouses within minutes after getting them. There is probably a giant pile of cat toys in our home somewhere.
2. How did you come up with their names?
All of them have traditional Finnish male names. We had a list of good names to choose from, and after they came to us, we tried to think what they would look like the most. In our opinio,n every one of them looks like their names. Before Toivo, we had another black cat who unfortunately passed away when he was only 7 years old. When we got Toivo, he was our new Hope (Toivo means Hope in Finnish language).
3. Oriental Shorthairs are known for being super chatty and clingy. Are your cats this way?
Yes, all three of them. Toivo especially is the loudest one, he is very chatty even for an oriental cat. His voice is also very loud and high-pitched, he sounds like an out of tune falsetto opera singer. They want to participate in everything: they follow us everywhere, they watch closely when we cook, and they sleep in our bed. If someone sits down on a couch, at least one of them comes to sit down in our lap in a heartbeat.
4. What are their favorite hobbies?
Hugo loves food and sleeping in front of the fireplace. He doesn’t play as much as when he was younger, but sometimes participates when the youngsters are rampaging around. He likes to sit in front of the window and watch birds and squirrels. Toivo loves to play with his mouse, and usually drops it in their own water cup or our drinking glasses. He also likes to watch bird videos from YouTube. Hannu likes to play fetch with his toys. He steals our daughters plush toys when she isn’t looking and wrestles with them. He also loves eating.
5. What’s something special you’d like people to know about them?
Hugo’s spirit animal is bunny rabbit masked as a polar bear. Toivo pretends to be a cat but we’re quite sure he is secretly half bat, half lizard. When Hannu grows up, he wants to be a puma. I’d like to give a special “thank you” to their owner for allowing me to share the Meowrientals’ precious photos and stories with all of the Cattitude Daily readers. If you know someone who is crazy for these sleek and chatty felines, don’t forget to share this article with them!
