[nagdu] Cats and the human bond

Jewel S. herekittykat2 at gmail.com
Wed Apr 28 16:04:07 UTC 2010


Thank you so much for sharing your story! Cats are truly special
creatures. While I didn't take Sybil everywhere (and no, she was not
multipersonality like Sybil Dorcet), I took her many places. I also
found that people were more tolerant of a cat than a dog. Sybil was
not a service cat, nor did I claim that she was, but I was often
allowed to bring her into shops, malls, on buses and in taxis, and
other places. Sybil, being a Bengal, was also very good for people
with allergies to cats. I have a friend, who's nickname, crazily
enough, is Flea, who is severely allergic to cats. He also is not a
cat-lover, mostly because of the allergy. However, when he came to
visit my house (with warning about a cat's presence), he found that
not only was he not allergic to Sybil, but he also fell in love with
this sweet cat who as soon as he sat down, jumped on his lap and sat
there purring for the entire 2 hours we chatted. She was in training
to be a therapy cat before she was stolen from me by what I thought
was a reputable cat-sitter. The reason she is hypoallergic is because
all Bengals have a single coat of fur, not the two coats that most
cats have (I believe Cornish Rexes also have this quality?). Without
the undercoat, dander did not build ud on Sybil's fur. It didn't hurt,
of course, that Sybil *loved* to be groomed twice a day, and I caught
her playing in water often.

I tell people that I would love to have a guide cat, if only they were
large enough! People are much more willing to accept the presence of a
cat than a dog. I took Sybil into department stores, electronic
stores, bookstores, and even once in the sitting area of an ice cream
parlor, where they offered a half-scoop for Sybil, though I asked them
to please make it more like an eighth scoop, as ice cream is not good
for cats. They did, and Sybil got to enjoy her faviourite flavour,
mint. I kept a shoulder bag carrier with me, but rarely used it,
because Sybil loved to walk on her leash and was the best behaved cat
I've ever seen.

Bengals are my favourite breed, though Devon Rex and Cornish Rex cats
come in second and third respectively. Devon Rexes are just sooo cute.
And you are definitely right about Cornish Rexes being very
intelligent and they are also very sociable, qualities I find
wonderful in a cat.

I hope to one day get a Bengal again, and perhaps I'll get to start
the training again for that cat to become a therapy cat. The process
of finding the right therapy animal is very similar to finding the
right guide dog, and sometimes harder, because you are looking for a
cat who will work with the largest number of different people, but who
will tolerate you as the middleman. It's even harder when you have a
particular breed (such as Bengal or Cornish Rex) in mind, and if
you're like me and simply *must* have a black Bengal. They lok like
little panthers, and are awesome. I guess I'd accept any cat that fit
the bill, but the black Bengal is what I really want.

~Jewel

On 4/27/10, Mardi Hadfield <wolfsinger.lakota at gmail.com> wrote:
> Jewel, I highly agree with you about cats. Many years ago,I used to breed
> show cats. My favorite breed is the Cornish Rex. They are a small very
> svelte cat with a beautiful Marcelle wave to their coat.They are very dog
> like in personality and very intelligent.One of my Rex Grand Champions,
> Tabitha was able to predict and warn me of an oncoming seizure.She would
> jump on me and pull at my clothing to warn me. This is the only time she
> exhibited this kind of behavior. She was never wrong and would give me some
> times as much as a half an hour warning before it would happen. I trained my
> cat to walk on a leash and harness and conditioned her to loud noises and
> the crowds at the mall.I also trained her to ride in cars and public
> transportation. Tabitha went every where with me. I had a basket in my
> wheelchair and she would sit in it.Nothing seemed to bother this cat.Once
> when I was at the mall, a child popped a balloon right next to Tabitha and
> she never moved a hair.Some one asked if she was deaf,because she did not
> react to the loud noise.I called her name and she turned her head and kissed
> me on my nose.The woman said she was amazed that the cat was so calm.
> Believe it or not, I had less access problems with the cat than with my
> dogs.When I took Tabitha into a restaurant she would just sit quietly in her
> basket and never tried to get the food.  I had other cats that were related
> to this cat and began breeding seizure alert cats. I trained these cats and
> gave them to people with seizures all over this country and
> Japan,France,Brussels and Canada.I did not charge any thing for these cats.
> The only thing they paid for was the shipping.I also trained other cats for
> this work, but the Cornish Rex were well tolerated by people with
> allergies.Picture a cat with a poodle coat that never has to be trimmed.They
> are wonderful cats. I lost my beloved Tabitha to cancer at 17 years of age.
> I still have one of these cats left. The last of my line.Cats are very
> sensitive creatures and the bond with them can be very special indeed!
> Mardi and Shaman and Nala,retired.
>
> --
> http://wolfsinger-lakota.blogspot.com/
> http://wolfsinger2-thegoldendragon.blogspot.com
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