Perhaps Atlas related to Nell's situation — after all, Atlas had been homeless once himself. His former owner had surrendered Atlas, along with Atlas's sister and mom, to the Hawaii Island Humane Society when Atlas was only 3 weeks old, according to Christie.

Christie, who works as a manager at the Hawaii Wildlife Center, went to the shelter looking for a specific kind of cat — one she could put a harness on and take on adventures. And Atlas seemed to fit the part.

"I wanted to have an adventure cat who could go out safely on a leash and enjoy the outdoors with me, but also not be contributing to the big issue of free roaming cats killing billions of wildlife each year," Christie said. "I picked [Atlas] because of his brave and outgoing personality."