True Story: My Parents’ Cat Is Richer And More Famous Than Me

My parents own an internet famous cat named Pompous Albert. With more than 140,000 followers on Instagram, appearances on People Magazine, Inside Edition, The Dodo, and BuzzFeed, (not to mention commercial deals with Honda), he has quickly risen to fame. Meanwhile, I’m a grownup with a college degree and full-time job just trying to survive adulthood.

Pompous Albert and I both had a normal childhood. Albert was a rejected show cat who was adopted into the family and became the resident office cat at my parent’s local business. I was the eldest of three girls, going to school, and adapting to life after college. It’s been comical having our cat rise to fame, as my sisters and I struggle to make our own path in life. Am I jealous of a cat? Maybe. Do my parents check in with the cat as often as their own children? Yes.

Hollywood made adulthood look fabulous. Who wouldn’t want to be thirty, flirty, and thriving? However, adulting is not as glamorous as one may think—especially when you’re living in the shadow of a cat.

So, what’s the big deal with internet cats anyway? Maybe it’s because they are cute and fluffy, and anytime you watch a cat video, your mood seems to lift. Or perhaps it’s because they have attitude, are stealthy, and do things humans simply cannot (like climb into the filing cabinet to escape the mundane workday). Who wouldn’t want to do that on a Monday afternoon?

Pompous Albert’s fans enjoy his snarky commentary on his fellow employees, work drama, and the office routine as it allow them to vicariously get out their own corporate frustrations via Albert’s photostream.

While Pompous Albert is a feline celebrity, at the end of the day he is still an office cat and family pet. He poops in a litter box, licks his own fur, coughs up hairballs, and eats his kitty food one kibble at a time.