Zoë and Izzy are not more than a few years old. At such a young age, Zoë and Izzy’s hobbies boil down to eating, sleeping, demanding attention, and making sure everyone around them hears them at all times. At the end of the day, though, the two calm down, snuggle with each other, and watch Netflix.
Now, even though they’re pretty young, Zoë and Izzy are active on social media. With over 300K followers on Instagram, they’re obsessed with posting about their day-to-day activities, outfits of the day (OTDs), and favorite food combos. We’d go as far as to argue that they’re becoming Internet influencers.
But Zoë and Izzy aren’t your ordinary Internet influencers – they’re cats!
While the two do not belong to the top-tier catfluencers on Instagram, they’re getting there. Instagram cats seem to have taken the Internet by storm, with the likes of Nala Cat garnering over 4.5 million followers, Grumpy Cat over 2.6 million, and Lil Bub over 2.5 million.
People love looking at cute cat pics, there’s no question about that. Whether you’re a pet parent to a cat with distinctive facial features, rare markings, or anything appearance-related that sets her apart from average cats, you’re guaranteed to garner quite a following on Instagram, TikTok, or even Snapchat.
Depending on your desires, you might start posting pics of your pets for fun and be taken aback by the amount of attention you get. Instagram reels, TikToks, and Youtube shorts are even more attention-grabbing considering the fact they’re better at conveying how cute and cuddly your cats are.
Whatever your preferred form of content might be, you’re always one step away from making your purrecious pets social media stars, fashion gurus, or catfluencers. Circling back to Zoë and Izzy, that’s exactly what happened when Joanne Smienk, the mom of the two, decided to post them on Instagram.
Starting from the beginning, Joanne decided that she wanted to add another member to her family and adopt a kitten. She arranged a meeting with a family that offered a litter of kittens, hoping she’d make a connection and go home with one of them.
She’d already seen Izzy on the family’s post, but she wanted to meet her before making a decision.
When she arrived at the family’s apartment, though, she was overcome with emotions when she spotted Izzy’s sister, Zoë. Zoë was absolutely adorable, but what captured Joanne’s attention was a heart-shaped marking on Zoë’s chest. She was literally wearing her heart on her chest.
When Joanne pointed that out to the family, she was shocked that nobody noticed that before her. She sensed the connection she’d been searching for that entire time, and she knew she needed to do something about that. She knew she needed to adopt them both.
Now, Zoë’s heart-shaped marking wasn’t the sole reason why Joanne decided to take them both home with her. When she was talking to the family and getting to know the kittens, she noticed that Izzy and Zoë were the only two black-and-white tuxedo kitties in their litter.
They had a very strong bond – they kept playing with each other, hiding under each other’s fluff, and running toward each other every time they were separated.
They didn’t want to spend a minute apart from each other. They wanted to get adopted together and Joanne didn’t want to be the one to separate them.
When the bonding time was over, Joanne decided to go home with both of them. Izzy and Zoë were over the moon when they figured out they were going home with Joanne. That’s also when Joanne knew she made the right decision.
Joanne added that the two were BFFs from the get-go, which made sense considering the fact they’re sisters. Although the two looked alike, Izzy and Zoë were quite different from one another. Izzy was the troublemaker among the two, always looking for something to climb on, knock down, or break.
She demanded attention at all times, adored following Joanne from one room to another, and waiting for her at the door when she was at work. She loved hanging out with Joanne’s friends, family, and even neighbors.
She was outgoing and energetic. Zoë, on the other hand, was much more cautious, reserved, and shy. She didn’t like stealing the spotlight from her sister, but she seemed to have come to terms with the fact that people were curious about her odd markings.
She was curious, too, and she loved exploring the great outdoors, rolling on the ground, and slapping plants for no reason.
When you go to Izzy and Zoë’s Instagram account, @izzyandthefluff, you’re going to uncover a world of videos depicting the two of them doing the most every moment of the waking hour. Izzy and Zoë might have opposite purrsonalities, but when they’re hanging out together – they’re the same.
Izzy earned the nickname Meowl because she always adored making strange sounds, meowing at the top of her lungs, and waking up the neighbors.
Zoë, on the other hand, earned the nickname The Fluff because she was much fluffier than average black-and-white tuxedo British Shorthairs – they’re called Shorthairs for a reason.
Zoë might have been the one that attracted the most attention from fans and followers, but the two managed to entertain the masses for years and years.
When Joanne took to Instagram to announce that Zoë had sadly passed away due to sudden health complications, everyone’s heart broke.
Joanne mentioned how nobody was sure what took Zoë away from them, but the doctors suspected that she suffered from severe anemia due to a bone marrow tumor. Unfortunately, Zoë passed away too quickly to determine what caused her health to deteriorate rapidly.
Joanne continues to remember and honor Zoë on Instagram and assure everyone that Izzy is doing OK. We’re sending Joanne and Izzy the biggest hug ever!
