You know of people being transgender, but have you ever heard of people who consider themselves “trans-species”?
In Oslo, Norway, 20-year-old Nano identifies herself as a cat.
She said her lightbulb moment came when she was told by doctors she had a “genetic defect” at the age of sixteen. That’s when she realized why she was different: she was really a cat.
While uncommon, Nano is not alone in feeling she embodies the spirit of an animal. There is a phenomenon called Otherkin, which Wikipedia describes as “people who identify as partially or entirely non-human.”
Because she identifies herself as a cat, she lives her life a little differently. She sleeps in sinks and on windowsills. She hisses at dogs and hates water. Sometimes, she walks around on all fours.
Nano even claims she has heightened senses, hearing things that humans can’t, and possessing the ability to see better at night than in the daylight. She says she can see critters scurrying in the dark, and when asked if she’s ever got a mouse, she says that she’s tried, but has yet to catch one.
Although Nano’s condition is not common, she seems to have found a kindred spirit. Her best friend Svien, who still considers himself human, also feels he is partially cat. It’s a little confusing, but as Nano puts it, “He is human but have someone in his head that is a cat, and I am born as a cat.”
The two even claim to “communicate in cat language” with each other, even translating snippets of human conversation into meows for the reporter.
But there’s one small inconsistency between Nano and Svien’s exchange and cat culture: cats don’t actually meow as a form of conversational language, but rather, to express their emotions to their humans.
While Nano’s psychologist says that she’ll grow out of her cat identity, she claims that this will never happen because her “genetic defect” is permanent. Nano says that she was “born in the wrong species.”
Whether you think that this literal “cat-lady” is legitimate or outlandish, it’s no surprise that this intriguing video has gone viral.
Are you convinced that Nano is a cat born in a human’s body? Tell us!
(All images adapted from Født i feil art via Youtube.)