Meow 100 Part 5: Final list of Sydney’s best cats revealed
Meet Sydney’s top cat, a fabulous feline who has been crowned the winner of The Daily Telegraph’s Meow 100.
Meet Sydney’s top cat, a fabulous feline called Felix and the winner of The Daily Telegraph’s Meow 100.
Nobody knows quite how old he is but the power puss has been around the block a few times and when he turned up at the back door of owner Nafela Charawani’s Punchbowl home 18 months ago, he gave her great claws for alarm.
“He had cuts all over his eye and it was infected, he had a bad abscess on his head,” she said. “He looked as if he was really old, we later found out he has feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) which is the cat equivalent of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).”
“Most people are scared that they will contact the disease or it will infect their pets but that is not the case.”
After initially looking after Felix, Ms Charawani took him to The Mini Kitty Commune.
He did not get adopted straight away and Nafela said she would foster him until that happened.
She has now been fostering him for almost 18 months, with The Mini Kitty Commune providing food and covering his veterinary costs.
Ms Charawani thinks Felix was abused by his former owners and he struggles when he is inside.
Because of his anxiety she tries to get him out into the community where she can, whether that is in his pram or by tucking his trusty leash around him, but always wearing his eccentric outfits.
“Every month I take him to the Sydney vegan markets, he wears his signature outfit which is a denim jacket,” she said.
“It is crazy. He gathers a crowd when we go. People want to take pictures of him and see him.
“When we are out of the house his temperament is fantastic — he is this adorable grumpy old boy who can fall asleep anywhere.”
Here is full list of the best cats hand-picked for our Meow 100.