breeding queen, the space restriction also provides alternate levels of frustration and a sense of security. Mia’s preference for lying on Catherine’s lap with the protection of a blanket mirrors the intimacy she shared with her mother as a kitten.
In Catherine’s words, “Last Friday night I was up rather late when Mia started running around the house like crazy, just because she could. She even started doing that wiggle, the hind legs thing, before she took off. Now if I’m home and don’t open the door to my room right away, she cries.”
Catherine has permitted Mia the freedom of choice. Felines who explore their home with such energy, exhibiting the hind leg bunny jumping reflex are reflecting their love and the great joy they are experiencing in their environment.
“When I first brought her home it took her days to purr, and now she’s so loud it wakes me up. She wouldn’t sleep with me at all but after a week or so, she now gets on the bed; only when I’m almost asleep does she get as close as she can to my neck and shoulder. She also gives me kisses on my face regularly. Last week was the first time she did the kneading thing against my neck. A couple of days later she climbed into bed, curled up against me and started to lick my ear. Dave and Cleo used to do that to each other all the time; Cleo passed away in 1996 when she was 15 years old.”
Mia has accepted Catherine as her Mom; the gradual purr, the cuddling next to her mistress’ neck and shoulders are familiar to this feline since the last loving contact she experienced was sleeping with her mother and littermates in this fashion. The ‘kneading thing’ against Catherine’s neck is called “Milk-treading” and was associated with Mia nursing as a kitten from her mother. A cat will perform this act at a very slow pace of approximately one stroke every two seconds. As Catherine has mentioned, Mia will always accompany this procedure with loud purring.
“She also rubs herself against the dog’s face, back and forth every morning, and sometimes before bed. Mia has even tripped me from under the bed and she plays with Maggie from under there too, batting her legs and face. Once in a while if Maggie gets too rambunctious with her, she will hiss.”
Mia is implementing a scent-exchange between herself and Maggie by rubbing herself against the dog’s face every morning. Mia is marking ‘her dog’ with those special scent glands located on her temples and at the gaps of her mouth. Mia is actually reading both Catherine’s and Maggie’s scent signals when she is cleaning herself. She is literally tasting them both with her tongue. Mia’s routine has special meanings... she has accepted her family and has demonstrated her affection by routinely scent-exchanging with them and identifying their scent as a part of her accepted family.
Catherine’s posting on our Feline Forum was not only touching but a true lesson in the rewards received by following one’s instincts. Mia provided Catherine with the greatest gift a feline can offer their owner... that being their total trust. Mia began life as a caged feline trapped in a cattery operating as a kitten breeding mill. It can take many years for these fearful queens to learn that not all people will neglect or be cruel to them. Despite Mia’s situation she quickly passed through the stages of bonding because Catherine’s unique energy was in harmony with her own.
I believe Catherine needed Mia’s presence in her life for quite a while. Although she had lost two beloved cats, she was still emotionally seeking the comfort of another feline; this was the energy she was projecting to the Universe long before the day she encountered Mia.
In Catherine’s words, “Yesterday after work I went out for a drive in the country with Maggie, my adopted Greyhound. However I got caught in traffic at the tunnel on my way back home. Rather than sit in line, I got off the main road and decided to follow the river hoping I would come across another route back.”
No one likes being stuck in traffic, however I prefer to believe that Catherine was following her destiny. She selected a road which lead to the right SPCA facility holding her beloved Mia. It has been my experience that only when the time is right will such a detailed path lead to a Feline Soul Mate. Had she made any other decision then Mia wouldn’t have become such an important part of her life. Despite owning a large dog and faced with the decision of adopting a fearful cat, Catherine instinctively knew she was following the right path.
May we all have the same courage to continue on such a journey, especially when circumstances dictate that it may be easier to turn back. Perhaps it’s better to listen to one’s inner voice when interpreting complicated details concerning matters of the heart. For only when our instincts are in unison with our hearts will such a decision bare results that are as equally rich and rewarding.
Loneliness is comforted by the closeness and touch of fur to fur, skin to skin - or skin to fur.- Paul Gallico
- by Sande Kay
Women, poets, and especially artists, like cats; delicate natures only can realize their sensitive systems.- Helen M. Winslow
In 1978, while living in Rhode Island, I was introduced to what was then a rare and dying breed: Maine Coons. The female I met was so wonderful, friendly, large and personable I decided then and there that ‘some day’ one of those large wonderful cats was going to share my life. Well, my ‘some day’ did not come for another 20 years! I continued to learn all that I could about the breed and communicate with the original breeder during those long years. Twenty years later when I finally finished my youthful travel, I happened upon a Maine Coon breeder in my area. She had just had a litter of kittens (two!) and asked me if I was interested in visiting. She told me the kittens were not available, as she was going to keep both, but I could visit. And visit I did! Several times.
At about four weeks, the little male decided that I was a good substitution for his littermate. I did not know it at the time, but we were bonding; there was a magic between us, a spark. Luckily, the breeder was aware of this and she agreed that I could actually have this kitten! The day this breeder brought him to my house for his first ‘visit’ he curled up in my lap and purred. When it was time to go (it was only a visit), he dug his claws in and hung on to my jeans for dear life. Though he was only ten weeks old, she let me keep him then and there. She said, “He has made his choice.”
And I did feel chosen! For the next ten years True (that was his name) sat with me, ate with me, slept on my papers when I was trying to work and hid my paintbrushes while I painted. He was the cat of my heart. When I experienced massive self doubt as I began to show my paintings professionally, he stayed near me in my studio every day while I painted. He actually posed for his own painting and wouldn't let me quit. He would vocalize if I didn't go into the studio to paint. I have photos of his furry self posing for his painting on my studio table. More than anyone else in those first years, he encouraged me to keep going, keep painting. I know it sounds odd, but you try to ignore a 25-pound cat who is wrapping himself around your ankles, gently herding you toward the studio. It is rather impossible. His quiet persistent presence while I painted was exactly what I needed to continue.
During the recent tainted pet food epidemic, he developed Liver Failure in response to tainted pet food he ate. We both fought our hardest. He was fed lovingly by tube every hour for almost three months. In the end, I had to let him go. He was so sick. True crawled up onto my lap and spent his last hours there. Just as he had entered my life, he exited in the same manner. I miss him still. We both tried, and even though I am supposed to be the one ‘in charge,’ in the end I could not save him. Letting him go
