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There are only two occasions when I have BOUGHT a cat. One was when my mother years ago made such a fuss over my new kittens that I saw an ad for kittens and paid $25 to get her a silver tabby. The second was when the family and I went to a "cat show" and my husband fell in love with a precious playful silver tabby. He HAD to have her, and her sister, the last kitten, was running around the cage meowing pathetically, so I bought her as well. They were about three months old, and into EVERYTHING! But the first one, Miss Tabatha, was quickly in our hearts. At one point we had nineteen cats in our household, so it was no wonder that our older son, visiting a local cat show in Ohio, brought one home to his apartment. But this one was unlike any his family had ever had: the newcomer was a Siamese.
On a visit to Ohio we first saw the new cat. He was all light tan colored except for his legs and head. His name was Sanchez, given to him by a little girl whose mother was friends with my son. My son explained that the Siamese's coloration came in as they grew up. I had seen this happen when our silver tabby had her litter. The little kitten was treated well by my son's first cat, Mr. Paws, since he felt no threat from it. Sanchez was a little shy, but not too shy to display his brilliant blue eyes. That eye color is a trademark feature of the Siamese breed. It sets them apart from other cats and endears them to their owners. It is a bright, direct blue which, if seen from a dark room, is scary! No wonder the ancients perceived it as a good omen, since it probably frightened their enemies away. By the time we saw our son again he had graduated college and flight school and was headed to Florida for his first major job. Since it would take time to find housing and get moved in, my son asked if he could bring his cats to live with me. Being a soft heart, I said "yes", and Mr. Paws and Sanchez were brought to our house where they would live with the resident felines. I expected some territorial behavior, but there was a minimum of that. Mr. Paws, being accustomed to life as the Alpha Male, took issue with the Bunny Cat, and from there came some scrapping. But in all, things could have been worse, and the new "family" settled into their daily routines. As he grew, Sanchez proved to be a gentle giant who slept happily with anyone that had fur (or hair) to keep him warm. In fact if he slept between Mr. Paws and the Bunny Cat, all three had a good rest.
Then there were problems---not with the cats getting along, but with Sanchez's health. Jokingly I began calling him the "sneezy meezey" because he was constantly sneezing. The vet said it was a form of asthma, not uncommon for breeds with short noses. The cat was put on prednisone. So far, so good. But then he took a turn for the worse, with mucous dripping from his nose and mouth and big clots of black material in the corners of his eyes. So we went back to the vet, and Sanchez was put on an antibiotic in addition to the prednisone. This went on for two weeks, and when improvement was minimal, another two weeks. Finally, last week we could see improvement in the lack of mucous, hard particles in the eyes, and a return to personal grooming. Sanchez was getting much better. Today for the first time in a week I heard him coughing, but it didn't last long. His regal stature was returning and he no longer sat at the doorway expecting to be scooped up for his medication. And he has learned a new trick. For years, the dogs would sit at my feet in front of the TV to share a taste of our supper. Then Bunny Cat joined them. Then this past week a fourth face appeared waiting to be treated: Sanchez! His appetite for a bit of steak or chicken was very good. What have I started?
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