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| By Sharon K. Swedlund
Found a starving little tabby kitten in a barn. Mother obviously gone for some time - presumed dead. Wow! Mother Nature can be so cruel. What to do? Could not leave her there. On the other hand, did not want a tabby. Had always wanted a chinchilla Persian. Number two son allergic to cats. Had shelved the chinchilla idea until later. But, absolutely could not leave the tabby there. Remembered my friend was looking for a kitten. Problem solved! Took the kitten home and called my friend with the good news. Made arrangements to deliver kitten two days later. Kitten took over entire house and the hearts that lived there. Two days later couldn't imagine the house without her. Called my friend and gave her the bad news. Told her I would find her another kitten. Before I could give it another thought, litter of stray kittens magically turned up in my office. Hopeful person wanted help in finding homes. Found homes for all of them, except the teeny black one which I took home for my friend. Called my friend with the good news and made arrangements to deliver on the week-end. Black kitten took over. Husband declared black kitten wasn't going anywhere - my friend could find another one. Called my friend and gave her the bad news. House was suddenly full of fun and purrs and kisses. We sat in amazement watching them. How had we lived without them? The chinchilla Persian kept purring around in the back of my mind. What the heck. What's another cat? Started haunting cat shows for just the right one. Cat shows looked like fun! No chinchillas, but a friend told me about a white persian kitten for sale. Went to see him. Brought him home and marvelled at his beauty. Number one son called to say a litter of Persian kittens near his home were living in bad conditions. Grabbed a friend and went directly there. She bought two, and I bought the other. Blue_cream - runt of the litter. Life was good. Persians hung out together, and the short-hairs were buddies. The chinchilla purred on in the back of my mind. Had a wonderful year until tragedy struck. The blue cream died suddenly of a rare disease. (The reason she was the runt.) The house was like a tomb. Devastation hung in the air. White Persian mourned. Refused to eat for three days. Began to fail. Trip to vet. Injections to bolster his system. Advised to get him another cat. Had made some acquaintances in the silver business by this time. Knew which breeders had the lines I wanted. Made a call and was referred to a breeder with a chinchilla kitten. Exact lines I wanted and ready to go. Scared to death she would not find mine to be an acceptable home. Cried when I told her about the blue cream and my poor, sad white Persian. She agreed to let me come have a look. Couldn't sleep all night. Heart beating fast when her door opened. Totally captivated by the kitten's huge, green eyes. Kitten purchased and taken home to my grieving boy. He swept her into his arms - kissed on her, not leaving her side for days. Looked at me with love in his eyes. Began eating again. He loved her and kept her near him as she grew up. She was my first show cat. I was going to my first show! Didn't know what I was doing. Panic attack. Breeder agreed to help. How could life get any better? Kitten was beautiful in her cage. Kitten was pronounced shaded silver by judges. The chinchilla roamed about and purred up a storm in the back of my mind. Cat in heat. Would I become a BREEDER and let my precious girl go spend three days in a strange house with the most beautiful male I had ever seen? Yes, yes, yes. This would be so much fun - babies of my own running all over my house. Cat did not take. Male came to my house the next three times. No babies. Had the bug. Loved showing. Would purchase another cat to show and breed. Would devote my life to this exciting, new hobby now that allergic son was finally off to law school. No chance he'd ever come back home to live. Not in a house full of cats. Would rather have a beautiful new cat than a beautiful new sofa. Would rather talk to cat people than any other people in the world. Would make so many new friends. Would travel to cat shows to see all of these new friends. Would read cat magazines by the hours. Would probably lose all of my old friends. Wouldn't care. Love me, love my cats. Would buy a new van to travel to cat shows. It just couldn't get better than this! Fade to twelve years, several cats, and a ton of poop later...... But, I didn't want all of these cats. Really. Where did they all come from? Ah, yes, it was the tabby that started it all. She and the black cat are still an incorrigible pair. The silvers look on them with disdain. The white Persian is still with me. My cattery is named after the blue cream. My first silver is a lovely spay. Many babies have come and gone - and probably far too many have stayed. Cats have been purchased and traded, always boosting the population up. The house has been altered, renovated, enlarged, re-arranged, shuffled, etc. to accomodate their royal little hineys. When I stagger home from yet another show, or sit up all night waiting for a queen to decide to honor me with the birth of her litter, or scoop another litter tray, I wonder whatever got into me? I used to be so normal - so sensible. I was what the psychiatrists refer to as "reality_based". My friends all considered me quite stable. Only the most die-hard of my old friends still come around and tolerate the cat hair. They've been replaced by friends who know better than to wear anything black. Who don't notice a cat eating off their plate as they sit at my dining room table for lunch. Who drop everything and come to me in times of need. Who let me cry my heart out on their shoulder when a kitten dies. When I crawl into bed at night - bone tired and my work still not finished - I ask myself how and why I got to this place in my life. Then some cat nuzzles up under my chin and peace settles over me like a warm blanket. I reach out in the dark and know exactly which one it is just from touch. As I fall asleep, I hear again the chinchilla softly purring somewhere in the back of my mind - the chinchilla I am still waiting for. Only then do I understand. Copyright © 2000-2005 SGE News Photo Gallery. Banner graphic by Stephanie Ujhelyi/Purrshinka Persians and Persian Cats Online Services. Article Copyright ©2000. Updated January 2005. Pamela R. Martin. All rights reserved. Downloading, copying and printing of this article is permissible for private use only. It is strictly forbidden to download, copy or print any material for the purpose of republication elsewhere on the internet or in print. |
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