Extra Special

[Deleted]

Yes I know they are all special, but even at that there is always one that just seems to shine out, even to the other cats.
Our Michael was a lanky beautiful tabby, adored by all the other cats as well as the humans in the family.  I can remember his worrying the life out of me as he raced round the house wearing a plastic bag like a cape, his head through the handle.  He wasn't a bit frightened and the others thought it was a game.  After that we called him the "Caped Pussy Aider"!!  When he came into the house you could almost hear a sigh of joy as the kittens rushed to follow him about.  At Christmas we had some little bells hanging from a windchime type of thing from the living room ceiling.  When the door opened they jingled.  Michael always looked up at them.  When he was in another room he could still hear the bells and would look up at the ceiling where he was.  We lost our Michael about 13years ago but the little bells are still with us, hanging above the kitchen window.  When they jingle I smile and remember the fun loving tabby.

[Ann]

It was a case of love at first sight for both of us when Alexander and I met. He was 4 months old, a black half Siamese and the two of us were just meant for each other. He was the offspring of a stray the breeders had taken in who promptly thanked them by mating with their stud tom. The breeders had never heard Alexander miaow or purr and thought he might be dumb. As they brought him out to the car and handed him over to me, he began to purr louder than I've ever heard any cat purr before or since and, once we got back to my flat he did a very thorough examination of every room commenting at length on everything he saw. So much for being dumb! When he'd finally finished, he curled up on the settee, making sure he was touching me and fell fast asleep. He lived with me for over 17 years and he made sure everyone knew he was an important member of the household and that I belonged first and foremost to HIM!

We had all kinds of games and rituals and, although he had a catflap and could come and go as he pleased, he would sit by the door some evenings waiting for me to go out for a walk with him. I can still still the faces of the dog walkers as they saw a black cat gliding in and out of the shadows and realised I wasn't joking when I said I was taking the cat for a walk!

When it came to the Catsup website, it just wouldn't have been right not to include him, so his picture and some of his comments appear on a number of pages. These two come from the postcard page (www.catsup.co.uk/post.htm)





Ann

[Xinzerella]

I love those pictures of Alexander, he looks not unlike my Havana Thor. Thor is very special to me - I held out for a Havana though I was offered just about every other kitten along the way.



More pictures to be found of Thor here: www.qinshi.clara.net/text/tcats/tthor/thor.html

[Lesley]

craig and i had been dating for nearly a year. he had heard far too many times how empty my apartment was without a cat. he had also heard how it 'had to be a bluepoint siamese' *i don't remember why it 'had to be' but it did.  the poor man had never even held a cat! imagine that!
at the time i was working midnight shifts at a hotel frontdesk and full time university *i don't remember the why to this either!. anyway, i awoke after a few hours sleep to craig saying 'say hi to mommy'... monty (after monty python of course) gave a tiny 'mew' and curled up beside me for the entire day!
monty was with us less than three years; but he and i worked out many details together, graduation, wedding, moving, new job, new baby *which he accepted very graciously. not that he was the best cat ever - he often felt the need to make us his 'prey'. i have many scars to show for it too! but he was always just 'my' cat. i still miss him at night; he would snuggle under the duvet with me every night.
monty died in september of 2000.

lesley

[Xinzerella]

Any pictures of Monty? How about other people's Extra Special cats, where are they? I have to admit each of my cats is extra special for one reason or another.

[Silk]

If I went through the list of every cat I've had the pleaure of knowing, I don't honestly think I could promote any 'One' as being the most special.

But in saying that amongst ever group there has always been one that has seemed that little more specail than the others (to me anyway) and funnily enough it has nearly always been the one who is just that little smarter than the others.
Whether it was Tiger (a part scotish wildcat) that most certainly wasn't a lap cat, and was probably one the all time top hunters in the cat world, (we even put a bell on his collar, something I normaly refuse to do, but it just made him a better hunter because he learnt to stalk so that it only rang when he landed, which was probably crueler.
Or Pharoah (a chocolate Burmese) who was badly abused as a kitten and mauled quite a few people in his time (one of whom had to have over 100 stitches) but was as soft as muck around me. He also gained a human vocabulary of around 12 words (We think there was possibly more, but his pallette limited certain letters and sounds)
or Silk, who is just too damn smart for his own good

The only thing they had in comman was they were/are big cats (Tiger tipped the scales at nearly 20lbs and it wasn't fat)
I do love a cat you can hug once in a while, (albeit gently) rather than just stroke.
But in saying that, even Ben (the Lialac Burmese with less brain cells than a sea sponge) who would reguarly launch himself at windows (closed ones) in an attempt to catch pigeons and knock himself out (stone cold... honest) they all hold a place that can never be taken

[Xinzerella]

Birds knock themselves out on windows, so you could say the cat who does the same is a birdbrain  ;D

I know what you mean, running through them in my mind, they all have a reason to be special - my particular special birdbrain is Fredi Firebeetle the Siamese, but even he doesn't knock himself out on windows. He gets divebombed by seagulls when he prowls the rooftops.

PS: Slight software peeve - don't you just hate the 'smart' selection that selects a whole word rather than part of it...? You waste time trying to select part of a word (like the 'ed' or the 'ing' at the end) so that you can delete it, but it insists on highlighting the entire thing. Exasperating.

[Maria]

Alexander and Thor - two very handsome boys!

[Xinzerella]

Fangs purr mudge, says Thor!  

[Chaos_and_Company]

All my cats are special to me, each one is unique in his own way.
I have always thought that all species of felines are as rare as precious gems, and any human is indeed fortunate to be owned by one, besides having a treasure beyond compare.
I have had the distinct pleasure of having known several 'Jewels of Siam' in my lifetime.  If I had to pick one, it would be Tom Kim, perhaps because he was our very first Siamese...
My husband had decided to surprise me with a kitten for my birthday, he had found a breeder who had Siamese kittens.  I was a little disappointed, as I had been looking forward to acquiring a Persian kitten.  I didn't want to spoil his surprise so I had decided to be a good sport about it.  After all it was the thought that counts, and he seem to be so delighted that he had found the purrfect birthday present.
We finally arrived at our destination and viewed the kittens...
When I first saw him it was love at first sight, out of the litter of six he stood out like the royal prince that he was.  Even at such a young age of eight weeks, he was elegant, and held himself with great pride.  Like a royal personage, basking in front of his adoring subjects.  I thought he was utter perfection, and from that point on, I was forever obsessed by my love affair for Siamese cats.
Tom Kim was warrior and ruler of the whole subdivision, no feline came into his yard or off their own doorstep if he was in sight.  He walk around the neighborhood with that 'Gunslinger walk that basically said 'Oh yeah, I'm sooo cool!'   Needless to say the neighbors considered him the scourge of Leroy Drive.
My husband Allan, was his favorite person, where ever Allan was there was Tom Kim, either on his shoulder or sitting on the kitchen table next to Allan as he read the newspaper... The favorite family joke was Mommy's birthday present, but Daddy's cat.
Tom Kim went everywhere that we went.  Whether it was a walk around the neighborhood, or a motor trip to Florida.  He loved to ride in the car.  He even came out on our boat when we would take trips out on Narragansett Bay for a weekend, of sun and fun.
Our children adored him and I always felt that the feeling was mutual.  He was always gentle with them, even when they tried to dress him up in doll's clothes.
I remember one particular instance when we were driving along Forbes Street, and the auto in back of us began to toot its horn at us.  We couldn't understand why they were tooting.  They finally pull up along side of and pointed to the side of the station wagon.
To my horror there was Tom Kim, ears flatten back from the force of the wind, as he clung to the side of the auto.
I immediately told Allan to slow down and stop as gently as he possibly could.  As Allan slowed the car down to a stop, as gently as he possibly could.  As Allan slowed the car down to a stop, Tom Kim walked along the side of the car, and hopped in the open window as if this was an everyday occurrence.  With that 'It's cool' expression on his face.  I don't think that anything or anyone ever fazed him.
I couldn't understand why he didn't fall off, but Allan said centrifugal force, kept him from falling off (or something like that.)  After that I always checked to see where he was before we went anywhere in the car.
Tom Kim was with us for ten wonderful years, he past away, a victim of Feline Leukemia, unfortunately at that particular time a vaccine was not available.
I treasure the years that we had with Tom Kim he made us laugh, sometimes scared us half to death, but ultimately was a great joy in our lives.  His legacy is that he introduced us to the world of Siamese cats, for which we will always be grateful.

   Bobbie                                    

[Ann]

What a great thread this is turning into, even if it is making me a bit misty eyed reading about others special cats and remembering my own.

Ann

[Denny]

Alexander and Thor - what beautiful cats! They remind me of a pair of Ebony Orientals belonging to an old friend, Kath. About 35 years ago her Siamese was the first one I ever had much to do with, his name was Wah Ping. My friend had several Siamese after him but she had bad luck with them and none lived to an old age
as Wah Ping had.  And so she decided to have the Orientals instead.
We love all our cats but Oscar is a real character. He is special too because he nearly didn't live past 8
months, when he was returned to the breeder by his first owner.  He was going to be put down, but due to the intervention of several people, he came to live in the country with us and loves living here. He is a great hunter of rabbits and mice, very terratorial, which has led to a few vet trips, loves his own family of cats and our dog, but chases any stray dog that dares to set foot on his land.  When Oscar first came to live here, we had our dear 17 year old chocolate point siamese, Sacha.  We were concerned that he would be harrassed in his old age by the young cat, but  they became great friends and Oscar would groom him every evening by the fire, I think it prolonged his life having Oscar here.

[Maria]

Denny - Oscar is exceptionally handsome! I enjoyed reading about him.

Bobbie - what a wonderful 'biography' of Tom Kim!

[Xinzerella]

Oscar is gorgeous! I can't imagine wanting to put him down - shudder. Must have been a heart-breaking situation, and I'm glad he found a home with you.

[Linda_Wells]

I don't think I'm going into this. I lost 7 cats in the past 18 months. All of them were special to me. Both my seal girls died from feline leukaemia, Harry from FIP and he took my kitten, Simcha, with him. Misty was a stray I'd had for 14 years. He died from spinal cancer. Timmy, the little longhaired stray, had to be put to sleep. He was so ill! And Linford, the Apricot Oriental, went on the road and got run over. He was 22 months old.
Malcolm had a cream Burmese, Zac. He was 18+ when he died of kidney failure. He was run over at the age of 5 and lost a back leg. When he first came to live here, he could jump onto the bed, but as he got older her asked me to pick him up. Like many old people, sometimes he couldn't get to the tray in time. He slept on Malcolm's head and washed his hair for him. He didn't meow, he went 'mair'.
We were on the boat when he took ill, and that holiday was spent going between vets. Going up to Coventry, I realised he wouldn't make it, and we took him to Atherstone to a vet there and had him put to sleep. I was in tears, Malcolm was in tears, and it was such a long way from the canal to bring back a dead cat.
He's buried at the top of Atherstone Locks, in a little garden. It was 2 years ago last Easter. I planted some daffodil bulbs over his grave and they are still there. I still cry when we go up Atherstone and I see the daffodils there, as we usually spend Easter in Coventry basin. I just wish we could have brought him home.
Simcha was the first kitten I ever had, and I still have nightmares when I remember the way he died.
Linda