Lydia Faber (45) can hardly contain it herself. In less than a month, her cat Nimis has become a social media celebrity. On TikTok she shows how her black cat in his ‘police uniform’ roams along the Amsterdam canals and gets into mischief. He now has more than 42,000 followers. “This was not my intention at all,” Lydia says several times. “It’s gotten completely out of hand.”
Communicate with cousins
So what was the intention? “Communicating with my 8 and 10-year-old nieces. I recently visited them. Those girls are on TikTok all day long,” explains Lydia. Since they don’t live near each other, Lydia thought it would be fun to find a way to communicate with each other. “That’s why I decided to create an account for Nimis. Then we could send messages to each other via TikTok.”
But not only her cousins turned out to be interested in the page. “Suddenly the whole thing went viral and I had tens of thousands of followers. I now receive so many messages that I can’t even find those from my own nieces. One of the videos has been viewed more than 1.4 million times. Not normal, right? “
Life jacket
Anyone who knows the one and a half year old Nimis from social media will think he is a tough hangover. But the real reason he wears his ‘uniform’ is a lot less heroic. “It’s basically a life jacket to make sure he doesn’t drown,” says Lydia, who lives on a houseboat. “When I first had Nimis I was terrified to let him out here, but I didn’t want to limit his freedom either.”
That’s why she bought the vest – then without a police logo. “Soon people in the neighborhood were joking about it. ‘Look, there’s our local police officer again’, they said. One day when I accidentally came across police badges in a toy store, I decided to make them myself on the vest.”
fame
“The cat is now recognized by many people on the street,” says Lydia. Also by the police officers. “They even take a picture with him. They really like it,” says Lydia.
Many other people also send messages asking if they can come by for a photo. “But I don’t give the location of my house. On Sunday people walked down the street asking: is this the cat’s boat? I find that a bit scary.”
‘Animal abuse’
Not all messages she receives are equally enthusiastic. “Some people think it’s animal cruelty.” She herself thinks otherwise. “That vest has already saved his life at least five times. On Sunday Nimis was still in the canal. A boy then ran to my house and asked: ‘You’re from the police cat, aren’t you? He’s around the corner in the water! ‘ He was in a panic and I had to help him get out.”
Moreover, Nimis is used to it, says Lydia. “I taught him to wear it and he knows he can’t go out without the vest. In the morning he runs to the door and waits there until he can wear it. Then I open the door and his day begins. Then can he be ‘on duty’.”
