Alyzee Corder decided to take up a new hobby by putting a dance pole in her bedroom in New Jersey. Around the same time, she adopted a kitten named Shadow and never imagined what that pole would come to mean to them.
“You know how they say animals imitate their owners? I think that’s why she learned it so quickly”, Alyzee said.
The cat soon became obsessed with the pink pole in the center of the room. First, she tested it out with her paws. Then she learned to jump onto it and climb down. Over time, she started staying up there while her owner practiced her routines. Alyzee admits she encouraged her with a few treats, but says the rest was pure instinct: “It’s in her nature. They love to climb, so, you know, she got the hang of it; it didn’t take much”.
Today, Shadow is 3 years old, and she’s the one encouraging her owner to jump on the pole; she looks at her and swishes her tail from side to side, as if saying: “Turn on the camera—I’m ready to be a star”. Alyzee calls her her spirit animal and the “star of the show”.