The most unique Siamese cat called Cleopatra

Amalia Berc

Description

Cleo was bought from a registered breeder, who was at the time my husband’s work mate and who brought some adorable Siamese kittens to the television station. He couldn’t resist them and soon after brought home one little screamy bundle. The kitten was with us through ups and downs moving from a rented flat to our own unit and then to our newly built home and garden, where she lived for most of her life. It was incredible how quickly she would adapt to a new place yet those were the matters that worried us most. Cleo’s arrival changed our life. In a way she taught us, in her dignified way, to be more attentive to her needs while at the same time she was a willing learner to our commands. We became less selfish and more caring. It was clear to us we had a great responsibility looking after this tiny, helpless living being, who was depending on us to live, to survive.
To be able to do that, the most important thing is LOVE for animals. People are not bad people because they cannot or want not to have pets. Therefore, it is not a good idea to give a little kitten as a gift to anyone. An individual has to make his/her own decision weather or not he/she would have sufficient love, time and money to care for a pet.

Sujets

• Sciences et techniques
• Animals
• Nature

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris AU
• Date de parution: 17 juillet 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669833543
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The most unique Siamese cat called Cleopatra
 
 
 
 
 
Amalia Berc
 
 
Copyright © 2023 by Amalia Berc. 848508
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
 
Xlibris
AU TFN: 1 800 844 927 (Toll Free inside Australia)
AU Local: 02 8310 8187 ([phone] from outside Australia)
www.xlibris.com.au
 
 
ISBN: 978-1-6698-3355-0 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6698-3354-3 (e)
 
 
 
Rev. date: 07/03/2023
 
 
 
“How would you like a Siamese kitten?” my husband’s voice came down the phone while I was at work.
“What did you say?” I wondered if I’d heard him correctly.
“A Siamese kitten. They are adorable – a breeder brought several kittens to the TV station today, and I thought you might want one.”
“Yes.…but how are we going to keep it in a flat?”
“No worries, they’re indoor cats”.
At the time, I didn’t realise what a historic phone call this would turn out to be. It changed our lives overnight.
I became very excited after the call, as I had always loved cats. And I thought Siamese cats were very special. I also thought one would have to own an apartment or a house and money in the bank to afford one, yet we had none of these pre-requisites. Today, in sixties and in Australia you could buy a Siamese for $40. I never imagined I would own one myself, even less that my partner would initiate the purchase of it. Shouldn’t he be more interested for us to have a baby instead?
The decision was to become an expert before the little kitten had arrived. I discovered that pet shops stocked all kinds of information, vitamins, fresh rabbit and kangaroo meat, but nothing specifically about Siamese. I inquired at the newsagent, however, and there on a shelf was a booklet with a picture of a proud Siamese kitten on the cover, complete with those vivid blue eyes. I could not believe that I would soon own a beautiful animal like that. The whole office soon knew every detail. I always shared news with my colleagues whether it was good or bad, because I could not keep it to myself.
That evening after dinner, I immersed myself in my reading. After an hour or two I thought I knew all there was to know – how to train and look after a Siamese, their likes and dislikes. I felt I could welcome our new member of the family in style. I bought a basket with soft blue cushions, a kitty litter box, yeast tablets, and several toys. My partner made a scratching post so that the kitten could sharpen its claws without ruining the furniture.
The following day we went to see the breeder of the Siamese cats, Mr. Robinson, and his wife. She seemed to be the business side of the operation while her husband appeared pleasant and helpful. He showed us a room where a big male Siamese greeted us with a suspicious “miaow” while the smaller female ignored us and concentrated on her brood. Some of the kittens were fighting, rolling on the carpet or chasing each other, while others were lying peacefully unconcerned of their siblings’ mischievous behaviour. One though gave the intruders angry hissing and sharp smack across the face and then happily stretched back on the same spot. Victory is sweet! The unwanted party, also hissing left in disgust but minutes later, the quarrel forgotten, they would be relaxing again. Another kitten flew right across the room and landed in front of its mother’s feet and burying itself underneath her.
‘That one is always hungry suckling all day long’ the owner told us.
They asked which of the lively brood we would like to buy and it was almost impossible to decide. All of them were adorable.
I also felt guilty at the thought of separating one from its happy family, and taking it to live in our flat, where the tiny kitten would be left alone all day when we were at work. Wasn’t that cruel? Here it was in a beautiful house with a large garden.
We could not decide which sex we wanted either. In the end, I decided on a female, and picked the one which the wife suggested. A pink ribbon was placed around that kitten’s
tiny neck straight forward. My eyes filled with tears and I rushed towards the exit. No need for them to know I was a sentimental fool.
She, the breeder, was quite impersonal about the whole thing, and just told us to come back in four weeks, when the kittens would be weaned.
The male owner disclosed that he always had one or two on his bed at night. He added mysteriously: “You’ll be a sucker before you know it”.
At the time we didn’t realize how true this was – we became slaves to this little bundle of fur
in no time at all.
Patience is not my virtue and on this occasion that was even more obvious than usual. I could not wait to see Cleopatra again (I had decided on a name with royal connotations) for four weeks. We went back and knocked on the door, to be received very coldly by the mistress of the house. After ten minutes she made it clear that we were unwelcome, and most certainly not invited to return.
I received several negative comments about my future kitten at work:
“You know, Siamese can be vicious”.
“Lucky you haven’t got children. They are capable of killing a baby if they get jealous!”
“They scratch anything! Curtains especially! They climb everywhere. A friend of mine came home one day to find the expensive curtains torn to shreds. She had two Siamese, but I don’t know what happened to them after that.”
I listened, and finally I gave in. I decided to buy some chicken wire or something similar to keep Cleo in a large cage during the day until she was fully trained.
 
Pedigree Certificate
The great day has arrived. Mr Robinson brought the kittens to the TV station where my husband worked, and now he was about to bring ours home.
The whole neighbourhood knew about her arrival. In fact, she almost made quite sure the whole of Sydney was informed too as she miaowed her way to the second floor. She was unimpressed with the uncomfortable travel arrangements in Milan’s car, and also the accommodation she was to inhabit, devoid of carpet. Most undignified!
 
Cleo’s first photo on arrival to our flat
The fact that she was upset made me more so. I hated to see this tiny ball of fur in this state, but just as distressing was the noise, as I was also nervous that someone might report us to the Real Estate agent. Even in your own unit you could have a problem with a pet, but we were renting at the time. I offered her some drink and food but Cleo seemed to become more interested in the flat itself after a time, and carried out an exhaustive inspection. We obviously didn’t pass that test and she began to wail again. I picked her up, comforted her, cuddled and fed her. Then I put her to bed and after playing with her new toy mouse, she had a meal of kangaroo meat and special kitty milk and went to sleep. However, in the night she must have needed company, as a baby does. I got up several times, but didn’t take her into our bed as I felt Milan wouldn’t have liked it.
“Leave the cat alone” he kept saying. “She will get used to it”. But I couldn’t leave her, frightened in a strange place and strange people when she had just lost her home and a big happy family.
Exhausted myself, in the morning I fed her and then put her in the fenced-in area and went to work. At lunchtime I came back and found her sleeping in her basket. I thought the advice I had received was lot of nonsense – I felt sure that if I trained my little Sweetie she would not misbehave.
“How could I have thought you would damage my furniture?” I asked her.
I kept Cleo’s company until I had to go, then gave her some fresh milk and left for work. After work I rushed home again, without talking to anyone or doing any shopping. I wanted to see Cleo as soon as possible.
After a month or so I began to take Cleo for walks. At the start I trained her walking on a cat’s tiny leash in the flat, and found her willing to cooperate when I pushed her toy mouse in front of her. In the book I had, it said I must start training as early as possible, so I went to the nearby park trying to make her walk. What a shame! I forgot to bring the toy mouse so Cleo refused to move. I even yelled at her and pulled at the lead, but Cleo miaowed loudly and ignored me. I did not force the issue, thinking she was still just a baby. I sat down beside her and stopped pulling the lead. Within minutes Cleo started exploring this new environment. I had no choice, so I got up and followed her. Obviously, she wanted to lead, rather than let me be the boss. I thought she had great strength and courage and decided not to try to dominate her again.
 
A cat walking on a leash?
I would walk her every day for a slightly longer period, and stop the moment she wanted to.
People would pose and stare wondering how can a cat walk on the leash? Some men would pet Cleo while giving me a glance of admiration. I was a young pretty woman used to male attention but this was highly amusing. Cleo was unknowingly bringing admirers into my lap.
In a very short period Cleo learned just about everything she needed, to my surprise. She never had an accident on her “toilet” but did her business and covered it neatly, afterwards cleaning her pink bottom. Sharpening her nails on the scratcher seemed to be natural to her., never on our furniture, to our delight. Any scratches we had were made by us or our guests, but not by her. Being small did not stop her jump up on our open bar and walk between crystal figurines. Never broke a single one.
I had never dreamed that a pet could give as much pleasure as Cleo di