When my husband was working as a driver, he saw all parts of the city, industrial and residential alike. One night he passed through an area of old warehouses, and a little cat dashed in front of his van and disappeared. The next night, he returned to the place with some makeshift bowls and dry cat food. And that began his friendship with a little feral cat colony of mostly black and white tuxedo cats. He got them through a Minnesota winter, and spring brought with it a new "cloud of kittens," as he called it. It also brought the attention of the warehouse owner. He wanted the cats gone. The workers warned my husband, who had a chance to buy and set a trap. Soon we had most of the colony living on our porch.
On his very last day of trapping, two tiny Siamese kittens showed up, barely weaned, and definitely not related to the older tuxedo kittens. The vet told us they were probably rejects from a breeder, who must have seen the colony and knew the kittens would be cared for there. Rejects!! They came home with us to become our much loved baby kittens, the only real kittens we'd ever had. Long slender Cookie was so perfectly beautiful, but she carried her tail curled over her back like a little Husky, and had a bump on her aristocratic nose. Rita was chunkier than Cookie, and had white markings, lots of them! She is definitely not a "perfect" Siamese! From the beginning, she was a little fireball. As a kitten, she had to have medicine, and would hide under my dresser. I would reach one arm underneath, and she would attack with all her tiny fury, sinking all her teeth and claws into me. Then I could just pull my arm out with her attached -- I thought of it as fishing for Rita. Cookie succumbed to cancer 3 years ago, but Rita will be 18 in March, despite her kidney disease. She is spoiled rotten, and given anything her little heart desires. She's partially deaf now, and so with her big Siamese voice, she is deafening when she wants something. We have a new rescue cat, a tuxedo named Rounder, and although he's bigger, younger and more energetic than she is, she can wither him with just a frosty glare from her icy blue eyes. But we couldn't love her more if we tried. She is the most precious "reject" I can imagine, and her continued presence in our life is my perfect Valentine.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
