The Blog All About Cats

My favorite subject... cats! Shockingly, Kira has never gotten her own blog post despite the fact she is one of the most important things in my life. But lets start from the beginning. When I was little, before I even wanted to have kids (the desire still comes and goes), all I wanted was my very own cat.


Our grumpy family cat

 The thing is, cats freaking hate me. Our family cat would mistake me for my mom and sometimes rub against me when I was in the kitchen, but when he realized it was me he'd start spitting and hissing. Now when I visit, he usually hisses at me in the first ten minutes of realizing I am in the house. This hatred is not limited to the family cat. I would say 95% of cats hate me. Friends' cats, cats of the families I babysat for, feral cats - they sense my desire to scoop them up and cover them with kisses and they run away before I get near them. Still, the years of hissing and scratches could not deter me from my final goal of being a cat owner.
Until I met M. The man of my dreams was allergic to cats.
I decided to go down a different route than subject him to a lifetime of watery eyes and sneezing, so I began to research cats with significantly less allergen levels than other breeds. The Siberian cat was the first hit I got. Since my family cat is a Maine Coon, I loved that the Siberian looked very similar in the coat length and coloring, but the attitude of a Siberian was entirely different. The breed is known to be more playful and vocal- and I was praying that meant a cat might like me.
After browsing through breeders, I found one that I connected well with at ForestWind Siberians. She is very patient and kind despite my many pestering emails. We did the allergy test where she sent us a sample of adult cat hair to see if my allergic boyfriend would have a reaction - he didn't. However, my roommate at the time was so sensitive to the fur she had a reaction from her room in the basement even though the sample was in my drawer on the second floor.
Siberians are expensive but the ForestWind breeder provides such an excellent degree of care that the huge price tag was worth it in the end. If you are not allergic to cats, I would recommend getting a cat from the shelter, but if you are allergic and love cats - take the time to research and find a breeder that will work with you. In February 2011 I was sent a few pictures from the latest litter and picked a little girl kitten with stripes.

My little chunky monkey pumpkin biscuit pie cookie poo
(Why yes I do the baby speak!)

 A few months later I drove to Buffalo to pick up my new kitten. Sweet Kira was so quiet when I first met her because she'd just woken up from a nap. This did not last long. The breeder showed me how to give her a bath (helps with decreasing the allergen levels) and how to hold her. That kitten has not stopped meowing for two years! We had to drive ten hours back home and she meowed constantly. When we got to the house, I tried to follow the breeder's instructions of keeping her in one room so as not to overwhelm her but she kept darting after me! We eventually had a rough night of sleep where she would walk on my face and meow, and I'd put her on the floor and go back to sleep.
Two years later in our kitten fairy tale M has had no reaction to Kira. We are very lucky and thankful for that. When I moved in with him I never anticipated how much he would love on her - she's our little baby! Most mornings Kira slips through the bedroom door after my alarm rings, crawls on M's back or steps on my bladder, and purrs until someone pets her. M loves to play a game called Kitten Surprise: he'll put her under his shirt, or wrapped in a towel, or a box and give it to unsuspecting me and she'll pop out then he shouts "Kitten Surprise!" It is hilarious, but now I've come to expect her to come out everywhere. 
M and I both want to add a silver male kitten to our family but because of the price tag and upcoming grad school for me we are putting it off for a while. Maybe as an engagement gift? ;)


Family Photo! L & M & K