Have you ever wondered what your cat is staring at through the window? Or maybe what it sees on a completely blank wall? One thing's for sure, you can never know what cats are staring at. Whether it's the abyss, the potential bugs (or ghosts) lurking in your house, or maybe even some birds chirping outside that they are stalking with amusement written all over their tiny faces. Cats are as mysterious as one could get and so are their weird fascinations with certain things.
Recently a cat named Jasper received a very special gift from his Cincinnati-based owner Melissa Krieger. What it might be, you might ask? Well, Jasper got a custom-made aquarium that he can literally climb under!
Meet Jasper, a cat who received his own custom-made aquarium
Image credits: jasperthecatfish
Given the chance, Bored Panda reached out to Melissa (the owner of Jasper and the fishies) with some questions about Jasper! First, we wanted to know how the cute cat became interested in the aquarium itself.
"We have had a tank in the same spot since our house was built 15 years ago. I have 4 cats and a chair next to the tank. They would all sit and watch fish from time to time. This tank was installed in December and it took about a month for any cat to really go up and check it out. We did not want to force anything but soon cat curiosity took over and Jasper was the first to do it."
The aquarium was made in a very specific way by a Cincinnati-based store called "Aquatics and Exotics"
Image credits: jasperthecatfish
Nowadays, social media makes it easy to share your hobbies, life, and everything in between. Therefore, we were interested in how the owner of the curious cat came up with the idea of an Instagram account.
"Once Jasper started going up in it, I made the video to show the tank’s creator Jason at Aquatics and Exotics in Cincinnati, Ohio, that it was finally being explored by one of the cats. I always had a feeling Jasper would be the first up there. He’s the first one checking the new toys or scratcher, etc. I posted it to my personal Facebook page and I got about 50 likes which was fairly good for me. It’s all my family and friends and I post kid pics and mom stuff. I don’t think many people opened the video because I put a few pics there as well.
A few days later, I decided to post just the video on a FB page my friend Dan runs called Not my cat. Which started as a joke about how his wife feeds the cats outside, he called them all notmycat. The cats are now his beloved pets. Maybe 500 people in group at the time. I posted there and then I thought OK, fish people might be interested so I joined a group called FISH TANK AQUARIUM and posted it there. All on Facebook, which was the only social media I did at the time. From there, it just took off."
It has a cubical window and once the cat slips under it (quite literally), the aquarium can be observed with a 360-degree view through a small cube
Image credits: jasperthecatfish
"Then I get a message my video was on TikTok. I opened my first TT ever to see my own cat on Lullaby Bunny. She is super sweet and you can read in the first comments where my kids and I talk with her. Since then she has helped me so much. We message each other and she is just absolutely wonderful. I credit her for making it go viral. Just can’t say enough about what a great help she was. Answered all my dumb questions and really has become a true friend.
So I opened a TikTok. My first attempts were quite lame. I didn’t even know about hashtags. Then I started joining every social media site where I saw my video. It’s been quite overwhelming from the technical side and content side. I thought I was sending a private message and it turns out I tweeted instead. Yikes! Rookie mistake but it was not pretty. Twitter people are kind of harsh."
Jasper, as lucky of a cat as he is, gets a chance to intensely stare at the array of fishes swimming back and forth under his watchful gaze
Image credits: jasperthecatfish
Obviously, we were also curious to find out about the kitty's personality too!
"He is curious, obviously. He is a little stinker sometimes and I wouldn’t call him a pampered cat but he has a pretty good life. We love him very much. I am 53 with grown children, two away at college and two live here. We also have 3 other cats named Willow (Jasper's biological sister), Indigo and Cobalt (Russian Blues), two dogs, 3 tanks (freshwater, saltwater, and turtles) which, thank goodness, are maintained by Jason at Aquatics and Exotics. Jasper kind of has to compete for my time the same as the other pets with 4 legs. Fish~feed and enjoy, thanks to Jason."
The cat seems to be quite immersed in his own little world “under the water,” as he gently paws the glass, letting the fishes inside the aquarium approach him for a moment
Image credits: jasperthecatfish
With all of that in mind, we also asked Melissa why she decided to get a custom-made aquarium.
"I have had tanks all my life so I love watching my fish. Jason came over to do the two-week maintenance. We have been his customer for 15 years so we are good friends. We were standing there watching our cats who were watching the fish and I said, “Wouldn’t it be fun to have one of those pop-up areas, like in a children’s zoo, inside the tank for the cats? Jason said, I can do that! He did some drawings and pricing, I said yes, and he built it!
He does some amazing work. He maintains aquariums for a Cincinnati Public School and a nursing home, I believe. His custom-made tanks are quite unique. He had a tank sat on stairs that he did for a home show once. It was the coolest thing! He can probably make any shape you can think of within reason. He is extremely creative and very professional."
The cat went viral on Instagram and TikTok where his owner Melissa has uploaded a few videos showing the fascinated cat enjoying the view
Image credits: jasperthecatfish
As we mentioned before, Jasper's story went viral on the internet, so we wanted to know what Melissa's thoughts were on that as well.
"When it first started happening, I was feeling excited and told a friend at my son’s basketball game. I felt pretty silly telling her. People my age really don’t talk about how many likes we get or such. I saw her again the next week and we had a good laugh."
Cats are not only curious but also funny creatures at times. Jasper's owner shared a funny story with us, "He loves to sit in boxes. Any box, any size. I just walked in the house and he is sitting in a little plastic box you store leftovers in. It was on my kitchen counter and there he is. Just looking at me like 'what?' When you open a box that was just delivered and take some of it out. Turn your back to box and he is in it. That fast. You don’t know where he came from but he is your box and you have to lift him out. He goes all dead body weight too, like he’s not helping. You want him out, you do the work."
However, a few users were concerned about the fishes, as they reached out and asked the owner whether or not the fishes were stressed given Jasper's presence near them
Image credits: jasperthecatfish
Lastly, we asked Melissa about what was her favorite thing when it came to Jasper.
"He likes to cuddle and sleep with you but you have to let him pick a spot. He comes immediately when I call. His beautiful blue eyes. The way he cares for the other cats. They all cuddle together and it’s so cute. A big kitty pile of coziness."
The owner was quick to respond, “They don’t seem to be bothered by him. Some of those fish are older than Jasper. We have had a fish tank there for 15 years”
Image credits: jasperthecatfish
Jasper's owner, Melissa, also added, “I really believe they either enjoy it or don’t care at all. This interaction has been going on for years. The fishes, especially the parrots (big orange ones), are very social with all our cats.”
Here are some videos showing Jasper and the fishes in full action!
Video credits: jasperthecatfish
Video credits: jasperthecatfish
Video credits: jasperthecatfish
Video credits: jasperthecatfish
Here's what people had to say
Jackson Galaxy, a celebrity cat expert, also noted that the custom-made aquarium was a brilliant idea on the owner's part
Video credits: jasperthecatfish