Life in lockdown can get lonely, especially for Londoners with no news on when strict restrictions will finally lift. Cats have repeatedly saved the day with their constant companionship as humans are forced to stay home, but a special feline named Billy took his role as lockdown leader even further. Thanks to Billy’s friendly personality, his two humans, Olga Shipunova and Zack King, now have a new mysterious friend.
Zack posted about Billy’s extracurricular lockdown activities on Twitter, and we can’t help but fall in love with the story.
My cat Billy became a postman in 2020, a thread: pic.twitter.com/WLPcfQeCAy
— Zack King (@zacharyking) January 2, 2021
It all started back in September when Billy, who enjoys spending some of his time outside, came home with a handwritten note attached to his collar. Olga at first thought Billy had gotten himself into trouble, but the note was the exact opposite. It started with,
“Your cat likes to come visit us when he is outside. He will sit at the door and meow to be let in. It’s actually hilarious and we love him!!”
Surprised and amused by both Billy’s actions and the friendly note, Olga and Zack decided to write back. The next time Billy went outside, he had another note attached to his collar.
Recipes were shared (I urge you to try wasabi mash) pic.twitter.com/qO2LuKjwYS
— Zack King (@zacharyking) January 2, 2021
That’s all it took for a friendship to start between anonymous neighbors. Olga and Zack still don’t know who it is that Billy visits, but they’ve kept up the communication. For months, the neighbors have been exchanging notes that are dutifully delivered by Billy. They’ve even equipped the cute cat with a special mail carrying container on his collar.
The neighbors have exchanged recipes and podcast recommendations, and even though they don’t know each other’s names, Olga says they’ve formed a real friendship. She told Yahoo,
“It’s been great to have such a nice surprise to keep us looking forward to something and also get Billy out and socializing.”
Development 1: the neighbour had sorted him out with a proper mailbag pic.twitter.com/EHksj5Xr2R
— Zack King (@zacharyking) January 2, 2021
Olga and Zack also say they have no plans to uncover the identity of their secret pen pal. Zack said,
“It would be nice to know who she was, but there’s no need, it’s quite nice the way it is. You lose a bit of the mystery,. I like not knowing where he’s off to, but it’s nice to know he’s visiting someone who is kind to him.”
With social isolation being the new norm, a friendship complete with handwritten notes and a cute cat is exactly what we all need. Billy is obviously taking his mail delivery duties seriously, and he’s bringing a lot of joy to the humans who love him most.
All images via Twitter/Zack King
