MIA'S PAGE
CAT PICTURES AND THEIR STORIES
I'd like to introduce you to some friends of mine.
MIA (yours truly) - MANDY - MISTY BLUE
MIKEY - MAURICE - MISTY MIMI
MUFFET - PANDORA
IN MEMORIAM - MISTY MIA
It is very difficult to report that our beautiful Mia passed away this past month. I went to the hospital suddenly for a week on October 6 and had surgery on October 9. After a few days, Mia must have missed me and went outside looking for me. She never went outside before, but for some reason, she went out and could not be found. After a few days, she was hit by a car and was found shortly afterward. I had 19 1/2 years with that wonderful, devoted, loving companion --- affectionate and giving of her love, not only to me but to everyone, as well as all the other cats. They respected her and loved her, too. She was, indeed "the Queen of the household." I cannot imagine life without having her with me. She was always there for me, no matter what, in all the years we were together. We had a loving bond. She was healthy, no illness, and no aging problems, just a wonderful companion. We buried her wrapped in pink roses. Mia, we will miss you more than you know. May the angels watch over you and keep you safe. We will never forget our sweet baby, our sweet Mia.
I'm Mia, and a Siamese. I hope you won't mind that I call my
human companion "Mom," since she is the one who takes care of us.
I have been in our household for the longest time and I'm the only
cat who was born in Mississippi, traveled to
California and lived there for nine years, and then relocated with Mom to
Savannah, Georgia, making a successful adjustment in all our homes.
I was the smallest of the litter when she found me and (she says)
a tiny little ball of fur with a very loud voice!
Even then, she says I had the poise and dignity that was to become a part of my personality.
The first Siamese cats to come from Siam into England in the nineteenth century were
a pair, a male named Pho and a female named Mia. So that's how I got my name.
I love to travel in the car and Mom says I am a wonderful traveler and also an
affectionate and intelligent cat companion. Mom say I'm "the Queen of the cat
household" and that I rule the roost! I was born on April 1, 1982,
and although I am now 19 years old, I am very agile, getting
around just great and show no signs of my age. I still feel as
young as I ever did! I insist on my place on the couch nearby while Mom works on her computer (which she does
a lot nowadays), and I like to sit on the chair with Mom for reading a good book (especially those "The Cat Who..." mysteries!) or watching TV. My awards include 1st place and a Blue Ribbon (and prizes) at the Savannah PALS Pet Show, in the Senior (Veteran Pets) Category! Wow, were we proud!
My best cat friend in the world is a long-haired grey Tabby called Mandy. She and I have great times together and understand each other as best friends do. She does have some strange habits for a cat, though! For a long time, she was fond of refrigerator magnets
and would jump up on top of the refrigerator, reach down and grab one, put it in
her mouth, and jump down and place it in a line, one at a time, on the floor in the
kitchen. We nicknamed Mandy "The Paw!" This always took place during the night and was
in the form of stalking her prey and presenting it for approval the next morning.
Lately, however, her tactics have changed. She now has this love
of pens and pencils and nightly raids the supply in the cups on the
computer desk. This is accompanied by serious meowing, and again they are lined
up on the floor the next morning. Otherwise, she's a pretty normal cat, just an
affectionate and quiet fluffball, although she does get vocal when the
phone rings. She also loves watching the computer screen and often tries to help out
on the keyboard while Mom is working.
Misty Blue is a Russian blue and has all those typical characteristics. Her fur is soft and thick and she is more agile and quicker than any of us! Her favorite sleeping spot is Mom's bed but will occasionally share it if we insist. While she is affectionate and loving to Mom, she is a loner as far as
having anything to do with any other cats, including us! She tolerates us but that's
about it! She prefers to stay in her own territory and when travel is on the agenda, she goes
into her "Emily Dickinson" phase. She doesn't want to get too close or share space with us. She
insists on having her own carrier and is thrilled
when we arrive back home. Misty keeps her distance from the rest of us, but we
accept her and understand that she has special emotional needs. That's what friendship is
all about, isn't it?
IN MEMORIAM - MISTY BLUE
We lost our sweet beautiful Misty Blue. I went into the hospital on October 6 for a week and while I was there, Misty Blue became ill and passed away on Friday. She was sweet, affectionate, and a beautiful companion, always wanting to be near me. She had not been well recently, but apparently did not suffer, but died quietly. We wrapped her in blue and buried her with roses and hyacinths. She knew only how to give of her unlimited love. We will miss you, Misty Blue, with your soft meow nestling close to us. It is not easy to say goodbye to a loving companion of 16 years.
Mikey is definitely the clown of the bunch and keeps us laughing much of the
time. Mikey and Mandy are brother and sister and both came into our house from the Animal Rescue
Shelter on one occasion when Misty Blue ran away and we searched the animal shelters
daily for her to turn up. After several weeks, we were distraught over losing Misty,
and Mom came home with two furry little Tabby kittens, one gray and one orange. As you
can guess, Misty Blue showed up the very next day, only slightly worn for wear!
Mikey and Mandy started growing by leaps and bounds and soon became very large for their
kitten age. They developed lovely "plume tails" and beautiful long fur, so much so that
they looked like prize show cats. Mikey is most playful and even at age 14 still attacks
and stalks playfully around the house, often teasing the rest of us cats into a wrestling match.
He can be a pain, but we love him anyway!
IN MEMORIAM - MIKEY
April 1985 - February 3, 2001
IN MEMORIAM - MIKEY
April 1985 - February 3, 2001
We are sad to report that on February 3, 2001, our dear sweet Mikey left us. His breathing became labored, we called the doctor,
and he passed away on the way to the Emergency Pet Hospital in Savannah. It was all so sudden, we are still trying to understand
and get over the shock. Mikey departed from this
life to cross the Rainbow Bridge at 11:00 p.m. He will be sorely missed. Never did I enter the kitchen but what Mikey was there. Never did I come home, but there was Mikey to meet me. He was the most active, most outgoing, and most affectionate of any cat we have ever had. His personality was so charming. He gave of his unconditional love to us. He loved to eat, and especially liked that little saucer of milk every morning during our breakfast.
The house is quiet and sad without our sweet orange tabby Mikey. His resting place is marked by a vase of flowers and a small white fence under the trees in our back yard. It's not the same without Mikey.
Maurice's nickname is "Big Boy" for obvious reasons. He is a large cat! With
long black fur, he looks closer to a Himalayan or Maine coon, but we are not sure of his
breed. On one of our visits to the Animal Shelter, Mom noticed a mass of black fur all matted
and covered with straw, sulking and withdrawn over in a corner. The animal caretaker, whose name was
Maurice, suggested we should take the cat home, that he would make someone a nice cat. We
could hardly see what he looked like at all! The poor scared homeless animal wouldn't let
anyone get near him. We told the caretaker we would think it over and come back in three
days, which was the alloted time that an animal was kept in the shelter. When we came back later,
there was the black cat still there. Maurice, the
caretaker had taken his index card out of the file, to prevent his being put to sleep. Although
we didn't think we needed another cat, we said we would take him and find him a home. We named
him Maurice after the caretaker who had saved his life. On the way home, we stopped and left him
with the vet and said, "Do what you can!" His fur had to be shaved to get rid of the mats. When we
brought him home, he spent the first week or so undercover, hiding behind the couch. After a
while, Maurice became accustomed to us and endeared himself as a lovable sweet animal. He never
meows or makes a sound. He is the most silent cat we've ever seen! Only in extreme circumstances,
such as bathtime, does he meow! [Update on Maurice! - He has discovered his voice! He now uses a plaintive cry when he is begging to go outside, but that's the only occasion. This is a real breakthrough!]
IN MEMORIAM - MAURICE
On May 28, 1999 we lost our sweet beautiful Maurice. Although we are thankful that he did not suffer, due to his sudden heart attack, we are still in shock. He went into cardiac arrest and departed from this life to cross the Rainbow Bridge at 11:30 a.m. Around 11:00 Friday morning, he came and jumped up on the bed one last time to say good-bye. We did not know he was so seriously ill. We will miss him so much. He was amiable with the other cats and with us humans. He had no bad habits, unless you could call sneaking outdoors to play in the yard every so often a little mischievous. His personality was warm and affectionate. His favorite place was on the back of the chair while we watched TV or read. We had rescued him from the animal control center in 1985, and he was then a grown cat, homeless and in need of someone to love him. We are not yet accustomed to his failure to greet us when we come in or his not coming by to say goodnight at bedtime. The house is quiet and sad without his endearing presence. Farewell, our good and faithful friend, our sweet Maurice. We loved you while you were with us and wish for you peaceful dreams.
One day when Mom was having lunch across the street from the bank parking lot where we used
to live,
she noticed several dogs and cats in cages. Homeless animals were
being shown by one of the animal shelters, to try to find homes for the pets. Mom always did have
a soft heart for needy homeless animals.
On the way to the car, we passed right by the cages and noticed a striking white-grey cat, very
alert and staring right at us. Big blue eyes caught our glance. It was as if this cat was
asking us directly "Get me out of here! Take me home!" She was really anxious to be adopted,
and had selected us. When Mom inquired, she was told that she was a Linx-point Siamese and had
been brought into the shelter by her previous owners when they couldn't keep her. The cat felt
rejected, and was quite unhappy with her caged circumstances. We discovered that a Linx-point comes
about from breeding a Siamese with a Tabby, with characteristic tabby markings as a result.
You can guess the end of the story. Mimi fit into our cat household just fine and even with her
assertive personality and youthful antics, she was accepted by the rest of us cats.
She was eager for our companionship and we thought it was neat to have a frisky new cat among us.
Muffet came walking up to our house one day in Clinton, Mississippi. She was just a little lost black kitten, but soon began to grow with silky black fur and white boots on her feet. She was a Tuxedo cat. We named her Little Miss Muffet but sometimes called her by her nickname Boots, or simply "Muff." When she was about nine months old, Mom was taking her to the vet and discovered that the gas tank was on empty. When the car stopped, somehow Muffet escaped and ran away. Mom ran after her and with the help of bystanders, succeeded in catching her, when suddenly the terrified cat clamped down on her arm with a ferocious bite, and jumped and fled. The incident took place about ten miles from our home and was upsetting, as we worried about the poor lost cat. About two weeks later, Muffet appeared at our window. She had miraculously found her way home! No more car rides for her! After this she became very neurotic and was easily frightened, and would not interact with other cats, although she was otherwise sweet and affectionate. With an adventuresome spirit, she began to run away every chance she got, especially after we moved to California. In January before we moved to Georgia in October, Muffet escaped and we did not see her anymore. We miss her and hope she found a good home with someone to love and take care of her.
We have two new friends! Megan and Molly are sisters and joined us on September 1. Megan is a long-haired diluted Calico. What a beauty queen! We've nicknamed her Fluffy. Molly is a long-haired smoke and white sweetheart! --- the most endearing, affectionate personality ever known to belong to a cat. These two little homeless girl kitties made themselves right at home, and we all love them already! (Well... almost all... Mimi is still fighting a bit of a jealous streak. We're trying to talk her out of it. She's getting used to them!)
You're right.... Pandora is not a cat! She is the only canine in the crowd! Pandora was only seven weeks old in this picture. She is an English Springer Spaniel and Retriever. Her mother is a Golden Retriever named Butterscotch, but you could never guess it! Pandora looks more like a panda, and she has been mistaken for a Border Collie. She is quick and bright and acts always happy. Did you ever see a dog that smiled *all* the time?! When Mom brought that puppy into *OUR* house for the first time, none of us cats could believe our eyes! We all scattered and stayed safely out of the way for days! That dog thought she was one of us and actually wanted us to play with her! Hummpph! Can you imagine that? What could we do but try to understand, and find a way to put up with that puppy? Mom wanted a laid-back, relaxed "rug-type" to lie on the floor in front of the fire, and fiercely protect the rest of us if needed. What we all got was this hyper-active, exuberant optimist who won't outgrow her silly puppy ways! After several weeks we got Pandora all straightened out (it took some doing on our part!), and now she leaves us alone most of the time. We jump up high to get out of her way when she rambles through the den. Pandora is two years old now, and is occasionally allowed to come in to say hello, and in her own clumsy way, she tries to be friendly. I have to admit, she comes across as intelligent and loyal, and has developed the prettiest tail I've ever seen on a dog! She also eats anything and everything in sight. That certainly takes care of all the leftovers that we didn't want anyway! She still never gives up on the idea that she can play with us cats, much to our dismay.
If you have a Cat or Dog Story or any comments, please
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November 2001
