Tom is no different from other cats who need a stable source of food, water, a warm place to call home, and an owner to be his family. And just like any other cats, Tom loves being adored and ‘worshiped’ by people. But what makes him a cut above the rest of his feline friends is that Tom knew the perfect place where he can enjoy all of these things.
The adorable cat used to be stray cat wandering the streets of United Arab Emirates. It was during Tom’s usual stroll around the town when he stumbled upon Photo Fast Studio, a printing shop in the same country which now Tom calls home. The staff working in the printing shop noticed the lonely stray cat and felt a tug in their hearts. Feeling for Tom, the staff decided to feed Tom some food that would satisfy his hunger.
It was then that Tom claimed the store as his home and the staff as his new family. “One day he started following us into the shop,” Adem, one of the printing shop’s staff shared with The Dodo in an interview. “Then he stopped leaving. Now, he lives here.” Adam added.
Since then, Tom has become an employee of the shop as well. In exchange for his accommodation, Tom eats, sleeps, and plays with the shop’s customers. But aside from these ‘easy’ tasks, Tom also works in the shop as its only model and feline ambassador.
Using his charms, Tom’s adorable pictures filled every picture frame found in the printing shop. Entering the shop, one might think that the entire shop is dedicated to Tom’s honor, which is a dream come true for cats like Tom.
“We like Tom,” Adem said, explaining why they had chosen Tom, a once street cat, as the model of their printing shop.
Whatever reason the printing shop’s staff has in mind when they filled the frames with Tom’s pictures, one thing is certain. They did the right decision of choosing Tom to be their model. Apparently, the once street cat became the lucky charm of the shop in attracting customers.
According to the Twitter user, Pahtch, Tom’s presence inside the printing shop has changed her shopping habits. “I’m a regular [customer] of the film shop now because of him,” Pahtch said in an interview. “It really helps that this print shop has a mascot that makes you keep going back. Customers can’t help but play with him.” Pahtch added, explaining how Tom keeps on drawing her to the printing shop.
Since Pahtch loves Tom so much, Pahtch shares Tom’s lovely pictures on her Twitter account. This innocent act of Pahtch happens to be the reason why Tom is a rising celebrity cat who is now being idolized, not only in the United Arab Emirates but by the entire world as well. Apparently, Tom’s charm is so appealing that his photo uploaded on Twitter garnered 80,000 likes and retweet.
“I didn’t really expect my tweet to blow up,” Pahtch explained. “People have been bombarding me with messages on the shop’s location and to see if it’s possible to get Tom’s picture frames shipped.” She added, happy that she was able to help Tom and the shop gain more customers!
According to statistics, there are around 70 million stray cats roaming in the streets of America. Hopefully, each street cats will be as blessed and fortunate as Tom, a former stray cat who now does not only have a place to call home but a work to feed himself with!
Is your cat as adorable and charming as Tom? What does your cat do for a living? Share how similar or different your cat is as compared with Tom down the comment section!
Twitter | Pahtch