Wookie

Hello! Meet Wookie... the most photogenic member of my family, and co-incidentally, Wookie loves being in front of a camera. He's quite the ham.

A few years ago I decided that Fanci should have a sibling. I wanted to get another female kitten... or so I thought, until I met Wookie.

The Sunday before Memorial Day (May 26, 2002), I happened to pick up a copy of the Wichita Eagle newspaper... something I do occasionally, just to see the colorful sales ads for the stores in Wichita. I also wanted to search the classified ads section for kittens... just to see what might be listed. I had been kicking around the notion of trying to find a natural bobtail kitten... domestic, of course.

First, let me tell you a little story. Many years ago, I had an all black short hair female cat. Missy was an inside/outside cat that I had adopted. Before I could get her spayed, she became pregnant. I only observed her mating with one large short haired all black male cat, so I assumed all her kittens would be black with short hair. Wrong!

Eight weeks later, Missy gave birth to six very healthy kittens. Kittens number one and two (a male and a female) were solid white short-hairs. Kittens three and four (a male and a female) were solid blue short-hairs, and kitten number five was a very large black and gray striped medium-hair male tabby. Kitten number six arrived last and backwards (breech). She had medium length black hair with four white boots and a white bib. She also had the longest back legs I had ever seen on a newborn kitten (it took her a while to learn how to use them) and a naturally bobbed tail! To make what could easily become a long story, short... my mother adopted the beautiful bobtail kitten and named her, appropriately, Bobbi.

After the birth of Missy's very diverse looking litter, I decided to do some research in cat genetics, about which there is a mountain of information. Surprising as it may seem and definitely not uncommon, a female cat in heat (in season) may breed with more than one male cat, resulting in a very mixed litter of kittens. In other words, each of the female cat's eggs could be fertilized by a different male cat. Thus, unless the breedings take place in a controled or artificial situation, such as matings between cats of the same breed by reputable cat breeders or artificial insemination, the physical features of the resulting kittens could be very different, indeed!

Sorry... I got a little side-tracked with my story about Missy and her bobtail kitten. My objective was to point out that natural bobtail kittens can show up in any litter if the Manx gene is present in one of the parents.

As I was saying, I was checking out the classified ads in the Wichita Eagle, when much to my surprise, I spotted an ad offering part-Manx kittens for sale! My heart did a flip-flop... maybe I would find a natural bobtail kitten sooner than I had expected.

Even so, I figured the timing was not good, since we were in the midst of a holiday weekend... but I threw caution to the wind and called the number anyway. Just as I had anticipated... nobody answered. Somewhat deflated, I left a message along with my telephone number on their answering machine. Oh happy day... the "cat" people called me back early the very next morning.

The "cat" lady informed me that if I wanted to see the kittens, Memorial Day would be my best shot, since she and her husband would be going back to work the following day. She gave me directions to their place, which was in the country near Pretty Prairie, Kansas... a two hour drive from where I live. Anxious to be on my way, I told them I would be there shortly after noon.

My arrival was announced by a great cloud of dust that had played tag with my Jeep Cherokee for the last half mile. These "cat" people really do live in the country! After the cursory introductions, the "cat" lady took me right out to the barn (cattery) to show me the kittens.

There were three litters, but... only one litter was actually of weaning age and ready to be taken from the mother. While I explained that I was interested in getting a female kitten, I looked at the kittens in the non-weaned litters.

All the kittens, of course, were sweet... with most of them having naturally bobbed tails. The majority of the kittens had short hair, and the colors ranged from solid black, to solid blue, and included some blue-eyed, cream colored kittens with darker Siamese-type points on their heads, legs, and tails.

Eventually, we got to the litter of weaning age.

So far, none of the kittens I had seen had tangled with my heart strings. That quickly changed, as I reached into the birthing cage and lifted out the only shaggy, black, dark brown and gold, marbled and spotted bobtailed kitten with muddy green eyes... eyes that told me all I needed to know. I had found my kitten! The "cat" lady was quick to point out that the kitten I was holding was a male, not a female, but the sex of the kitten was no longer important. Without a doubt, I knew this was the kitten I had been dreaming about.

The "cat" lady had mentioned earlier that, depending on the colors of the kittens, the selling prices ran from $25 to $50. I asked her how much for 'my kitten'. The "cat" lady stated that because of his color, he was ONLY $25. Before she could change her mind, I wrote out a check, all the while wondering at my stroke of good luck!

I really don't think the "cat" lady knew what she had... because the kitten I brought home was, by far, the most incredibly beautiful kitten of the entire lot. I knew my kitten was going to grow into one big, unbelievably handsome guy.

Look at the size of those feet... Wookie is going to be one big boy!

Is this a FACE or what???

Sssshhhhh! One very tired little boy here!

Yippee!

Game time!

Just thought I would sneak a little 'something' fun in here.

(To start a new game, just click the little "timer" button below the game board.)

While finding a comfortable place to sleep is a major concern for cats, since they spend upwards of 15 hours a day sleeping, Wookie likes to mix it up.

A "too-small" baking dish on top of the kitchen cabinets can be quite cozy.

Sometimes the cool bathroom sink offers a quiet retreat.

And, often strategically stretching out on the floor, in a heavy traffic area, where all humans will have to step over or squeeze around you to get past, seems perfectly sane... if you happen to be Wookie.