Saturday, February 26, 2005

R#x quest

I sent a deposit check off to the woman I met at the cat show whose D3von R3x* Queen is having kittens. I briefly wished for a second that my checks had some sort of cat motif on them and was just as quickly grateful that they didn’t. No sooner had that thought left my mind than I wondered if she would look on me more favorably if I included a photo of the family or the house or both.

There is something about these breeders that seems hard to penetrate and makes me want to prove that my intention is pure. It is no easy task getting a cat from a breeder. It all depends on “availability” and some breeders take deposits and keep waiting lists and some don’t so it seems like you just have to get to know them and be in their good graces and on their mind when the kittens arrive.

And I just don’t get breeders. It’s like the people in “Best in Show” though that was about dogs. It's a whole different world. They spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about and learning about something that I know very little about. They see things I don’t see, they know things that have never occurred to me. Their whole lives center around something I don’t have at present and don’t know how to get. And that makes it very hard, to say the least, to keep up a conversation on my end. What DO they talk about?

And on top of that, it just seems wrong to buy a kitten when there are so many cats that need homes. But, due to allergies, that is the way it is. I need this strange, hypoallergenic breed. I figure if we get a cat, then we can skip getting a steady stream of little scaly or furry things in cages. Cats are the best as far as I am concerned, except for my slight allergy, so chink away I must.

I started this quest nearly a year ago when we bought the house and were finally settled. At the time it seemed there were too many obstacles to breech. But slowly I have made inquiries, gone to cat shows, emailed and called around and this spring (spring seems a good time) I know of three potential litters within a day’s drive. I feel this is the opportunity, so we are going for it. First the cats need to have their kittens, then we know how many and if any are available (and hope we don’t get the worst of the litter---my line is “a healthy kitten with a good disposition is most important to me” but, if truth be told, I also want a female calico if that is a possibility!). Then the kittens spend 12 weeks with their mother to learn how to do all those cat things. In short, our getting a cat is still a ways off, but we’ll keep you posted.

*Something Cathy taught me. God forbid that someone searching for D#von R#x would find this blog and learn of my ambivalence! That would really put a damper on my chances.

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