On Jun 3, 4:56*pm, "MaryL" wrote:
"Bastette" *wrote in ...
MaryL wrote:
Friday was Holly?s 17th birthday. *She is still remarkably bright, alert,
active?and ever-beautiful. *She is still my little shadow cat. *Everywhere
I
go, Holly is sure to follow. *Duffy loves everyone, but Holly is
definitely
a one-person cat. *She makes me feel good just having her by my side. *She
is graceful (as befits a cat!) and agile. *She leaps, climbs and plays?and
somehow has never *broken anything. *Best of all, she is loving and
trusting. *She is my delight. *It has been 17 wonderful years, and I am
looking forward to many more.

Happy Birthday, Holly! She sounds like a special girl.

Here are two birthday photos of Holly at age 17:
http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL464.../402860647.jpg
http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL464.../402860860.jpg

What a pretty, round little face. Is she a purebred? Or did she just
end up with a bunch of genes from a purebred? (Which breed, in either
case?) She doesn't look like your average American domestic moggie
(if that's not a contradiction in terms ).

--
Joyce

Whenever you feel anger, you should say, "May I be free of this
anger!" This rarely works, but talking to yourself in public will
encourage others to leave you alone.

......
No, she is not purebred, but you are correct that there are purebreds in her
background. *Here's her story (I can't guarantee the accuracy, but my vet
said that her body lines could well fit within this story). *I had finally
been forced to face the fact that I needed to have my beloved cat, Amber,
euthanized at the age of 16. *It was not fair to her to force her to live in
pain for my selfish desires. *That was shortly before Thanksgiving. *I had a
few days of vacation coming up for Thanksgiving, so I thought it would be a
good time to find another friend because I would have some extra time to
spend with him/her. *I was not home for Thanksgiving, but I went to the city
animal shelter the day after Thanksgiving to look at their cats.
Unfortunately, it it was closed. *Then I remembered that people sometimes
brought kittens (moggies) to the local pet supply store, so I headed over
there. *Of course, there were no kittens at that time of year, but I got
into a conversation with a woman who worked there. *I told her I wanted to
look at some cats and described what I *thought* I wanted. *I told her I was
interested in a long-haired cat and that an older cat would be fine. *She
asked, "Would you consider...?" *Holly was not long-haired (although her fur
is remarkably plush and she certainly cannot be described as short-haired).
The only reason I had listed that is that my two previous cats were
long-haired, and both were wonderful. *I have learned since then to totally
disregard things like color and fur type when looking at cats.

The story she told me about Holly was that a local breeder had deliberately
mixed a Persian with an Oriental Short Hair. *She was trying to develop a
very specific type of cat, and she wanted the offspring to be dusky gray.
Holly is definitely not gray--she has the most glorious, coal-black fur.
The breeder (using the term loosely, under the circumstances!!!) was going
to destroy Holly merely because she did not fit the color criteria. *The
woman who worked in the pet store talked the breeder into letting her take
Holly and try to find a home for her. *She could not afford to keep another
cat herself. *Well, of course, I said I would adopt her. *She was very shy
and was terrified when I took her home, but she soon became my love and
constant companion. *Her name was Jinx (for "bad luck") when I adopted her,
but I could not stand the thought of her having such a negative name, so she
became Holly. *"Holly" is an abbreviation for "holiday cat" because I
adopted her between the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I went back to the store a couple of weeks later and gave the woman who had
saved her $100.00. *It was clear that she really needed the money, and she
almost broke down in tears. *I told her I would have spent that much at an
animal shelter, and I was grateful to her for saving such a special girl.

As I said earlier, I did ask my vet if the story made sense, given Holly's
build, face and fur. *He said it definitely did, so I have always assumed
that there may be truth in the tale. *I am actually glad that I do not know
the name of the breeder because I would have a hard time controlling my
temper if I ever met her. *But that breeder's selfishness has meant that I
have had my wonderful Holly for 17 years (actually, 16-1/2 years with me
because she was about 6 months old when she came into my life), and I am
looking forward to many more. *I just hope that breeder gave up on her plans
and never subjected any other kittens to her cruelty.

Wonderful story, good on you.

Some years back an ex-girlfriend (benign separation) introduced me
to her new beau, a cat breeder. He had asked her to board one of his
purebred Siamese toms because "he seemed a little peaked" and didn't
want a wildfire infection among the rest of his breeding stock. Ex-
girlfriend had kept "our" cat, a friendly stray tiger we had named
Charlie. A week later Charlie got very sick and was diagnosed with
FeLuke (as was the boarded tom).

New boyfriend's reaction? Charlie was "just a trash cat" while the
Siamese represented a significant cash loss.

He said that in my and ex's presence. I told him in a very steady
voice that IMO people who talked like that were "trash people". He
waffled his way out the door and didn't come back.

Ex was very sad to have learned a harsh lesson at Charlie's expense
and never had anything to do with pro breeders again.

I discovered the Maricopa County animal shelter (run by the
controversial Sheriff Joe) and helped her find a new friend there.
She's much better now.

Happy birthday Holly; may all of your siblings have found such good
homes.


Mark L. Fergerson