Kindred spirits

A few weeks before Christmas, I received a phone call from my step-mother, saying that my Dad was very distressed, because his beloved Siamese cat, Caruso had been bitten by a snake and had died. My mission, then, was to find a kitten, not to replace Caruso, but to become a new member of the family.

And, so commenced a search for a suitable kitten.

One web site lists hundreds of cats available for sale and to give away, and my heart strings were pulled more than once by a well written advertisement.

In my research, I discovered a number of cat breeders and owners in and around Melbourne. What sets them apart from the rest of the population is that they are absolutely besotted by their little charges and who are absolutely delighted to find other people with a similar obsession.

I left home yesterday morning to inspect a candidate, not too far away from home, cat basket in the boot of the car, with my promise to G echoing in my head, that I would not buy another cat for myself...

The seal point male proved to be healthy, alert, friendly and absolutely gorgeous, so a phone call was made to my Dad and he arranged to meet the breeder in Ballarat today for the handover. I made an immediate connection with D, the owner, who initially a little shame faced about sharing the bed with her cats, found a kindred spirit!

It was extremely fortunate that there no other kittens available for sale, otherwise I might have well ended up with another one. (And G might have had to be heard to complain even more loudly about not enough room in the bed!)

People meeting for the first time suddenly relax if they find they both have cats. And plunge into anecdote. ~Charlotte Gray