“Hi. I am Sancho, Sancho Pança Mateus de Oliveiria Woerden, to be precise. Yup – the same human friends as Robin, hence the many names. I am six, a foundling, Portuguese, and very picky. I’m a tough cat, with four different white lightning streaks on my black paws, and I’m a cuddle bug on my own terms. I am a super social animal and always wait by the door when my human friends come home, and I love snuggling next to them on the couch or, even better, on their lap. I live half in Portugal, where I have a lovely little garden, and half in the Netherlands, where we don’t have outdoor space but do have central heating.

I am obsessed with cardboard boxes. Put one down, and within ten seconds, I’m inside. One of my human friends leaves all the boxes in the house and makes holes and doors in them to play in and with. My other human friend would prefer one or two well-designed, beautifully made boxes rather than this rough collection scattered in every corner of the house—but I love it! And together with my cat friend Kasper, we play endlessly in, on, and around the boxes. Robin often wants to join too, but we don’t always understand each other, and then it usually turns into a bit of a mess.

For dry food, I’ve been eating Benevo vegan kibble for years. I love it and do very well on it! My coat is unbelievably soft, like velvet, and I’m in the prime of my life.

Picky as I am, I turn my nose up at vegan wet food and vegan cat treats. This is frustrating for my human friend because there are good alternatives where no other animals have to suffer their whole lives only to meet a cruel death. But no, no, no—there’s a huge variety for dogs, but for us male cats, the choice is seriously limited. Whatever my human friend has offered me, I simply say, ‘Give my portion to Fikkie’—or in this case, Robin. Robin is my 13-year-old dog housemate, and sometimes I can be very cheeky with her, but if she’s ever sick or in pain, I immediately lie beside her and don’t leave her side—yep, big mouth, soft heart, that’s me.

My human friend is still hoping for vegan wet food and cat treats that will meet my approval. He keeps searching and trying.” — Fred