Ogie Alcasid: ‘Cats claimed my heart’
‘I have not, and it might be a little too late,’ he regrets. ‘I should have done it when Lily and Lala were babies. I am convinced that they really can sing.’
Have you always been an animal lover?
“Like most people, I am an animal lover,” singer Ogie Alcasid said when asked about his love for pets. “I do have dogs, and I have had dogs since I was a young boy.”
But it is his often interesting, funny and heartwarming conversations on Instagram that have caught my attention. And no, it is not with a dog, but rather with his cat Lily that has this IG watcher glued.
Picture this.
Lily, a Maine Coon and Siberian mix, is standing over the sink. She seems to be trying to get a drink of water. Alcasid talks to her. “Nauuhaw ka (Are you thirsty)?” he asks as he turns on the tap so she can drink.
In another post, Alcasid and Lala are seen “making lambing” as he says in baby talk, “Pretty ka (You are pretty).” He then proceeds to introduce Lala to the viewer. “This is Lala,” he says. “Hi baby.”
A world with cats
Alcasid admits he was introduced to cats much later in life.
“Michelle loved, loved cats,” he recalled. “And we actually rescued many, many cats. The cats stayed with us until they were adopted.”
Today, he has started getting cats again. There are two of them: Lily and Lala. From the views on his IG, it is Lily he has fallen for.
“How did you know that you can communicate with cats?” I ask.
“The cat I was talking to on Instagram is Lily,” he says. “She is our baby. The other cat is Lala (the gray one). They are a mix of Maine Coon and Siberian ‘something.’ I am not so sure,” he laughs. “They are beautiful cats.”
Alcasid is quick to admit an allergy to cats. “I don’t really necessarily like furry cats,” he says. “But since I love them, I don’t really have any choice.”
Meow away
Lily is the one who sleeps with Alcasid and his wife, Regine Velasquez, in the bedroom. She is the one who greets him when he gets home.
“And when I say greets, she really talks to me,” Alcasid smiles. “I think it comes from her being a Maine Coon. I am told that they are really talkative. And it is my conversations with Lily that I like to record on IG.”
But there is more to the baby talk.
OGIE to Lala: “Pretty Ka.” Lala is also a Maine Coon and Siberian mix.
LILY, a Maine Coon and Siberian mix, sleeps with Ogie and his wife Regine Velasquez in the bedroom.
“I do talk to her a lot because she responds to my baby talk,” he adds. “She likes it.”
Life with a cat has Alcasid up in the early morning hours because Lily does all she can to get his attention.
“When I am sleeping and she needs to go downstairs, which is usually at about 4 a.m., she will make noise to get my attention,” he starts. “She doesn’t meow. She will either scratch some of the stuff I have on my side table or literally drop something on the floor so that I will wake up. That is the signal that she is ready to go downstairs.”
What she does downstairs, Alcasid says he doesn’t really know. He guesses it is the time she eats, poops or pees. He also says it could be her hunting time.
Meet the cat mom
“Unlike dogs, cats are known to be cold pets,” I say.
“It is true cats are cold,” Alcasid shares. “They really don’t care about you, to be honest, until they claim you. I honestly think that Lily thinks I am her mom — not dad, mom.”
He also believes Velasquez is her second mom. Lily looks at Alcasid like he is her mom, and she treats him as such.
Have you taught Lily or Lala any of your songs?
“I have not, and it might be a little too late,” he regrets. “I should have done it when Lily and Lala were babies. I am convinced that they really can sing.”
“Who is easier to deal with: your wife, your son or your cat?” we ask.
“Oh no, I am going to get into trouble,” came the quick reply. “The easiest to deal with is my wife, Regine. She is a ball of sunshine. My son is a teenager, so you know how teenagers are. So, it’s my wife, my cats and then my son.” (laughs)
The dogs are still as much a part of Alcasid’s life as they have always been.
“Last Christmas, my Labrador, Ringo, passed away,” he said. “And that was very, very sad.”
There is Lou, his daughter’s dog who stays with Alcasid because he can’t get along with the other dogs.
“We have Vision, who is a male Shih Tzu, and Chanel, a female Shih Tzu.”
Claimed
“My wife and I often discuss who owns the cats,” Alcasid begins. “She thinks that Lily is hers. That’s alright. I like that she likes to claim Lily.”
Alcasid shares that Lily actually likes to lie down on Velasquez’s side. When Velasquez is lying down, she will lay on top of her.
“She only does that to me when she wants to make lambing,” Alcasid shares warmly. “But she lays on my chest when she wants to flirt or just make lovey-dovey. She doesn’t really sleep on me ‘cause she knows I am malikot when I sleep.”
“So yes, I will say yes, that she really is my cat,” he claims. “But I think Regine takes second place.”
When asked if he plans to get another pet, “Wala na,” came his answer.