Bowie officially became part of our family and just like our other cat, Whiskee, was allowed to go anywhere he wanted. Whiskee was a sweet older female we’d owned for several years but she was not impressed with Bowie. She started to sulk almost immediately so we gave her some extra attention and figured she would get over it.
Everyone who met Bowie was amazed at how similar the two cats looked. The only way to tell them apart, other than by size, was the colour of their eyes and one small black mark on Bowie’s face.
Bowie
Over the next few days and weeks Whiskee continued to sulk and spend more and more time outside under a bush, while Bowie explored his new home. Whenever we brought them together Bowie would harass Whiskee by chasing her tail or pouncing on her, trying to get her to play. Whiskee just laid there looking at him. When Whiskee went to eat, Bowie would run up and try to play with her. We had to place Bowie in another part of the house so Whiskee could at least eat in peace. While they may not have been best friends, we were glad that they were not fighting.
However after a few weeks we started getting concerned because Whiskee seemed unhappy all the time. We took her to the vet and to our shock learned that she was suffering from severe kidney failure and nothing could be done for her. We felt so guilty because we did not realize the difference between being sick and being resentful of our new kitten.
When Whiskee died we were heartbroken. However it was a bit easier to deal with because Bowie was there to comfort us. Everyone told us that it was as if Bowie knew we were going to need him soon, and that’s why he came back to our house after Mike had first brought him here. There is no doubt in my mind that this is true.
Bowie is now ten years old and I am thankful everyday that he is in our lives. Unlike the first time I saw him and said he was an ugly cat, I now tell him each and every day that he is the most beautiful kitty in the world.
What greater gift than the love of a cat?- Charles Dickens
Conclusion by Jasmine Kinnear…
For a short time the kitten remained nameless until Esther’s husband, Jim, accepted the miniature odd eyed version of Whiskee. Esther explained that without prior discussion they had each decided on the same name for their new kitten. It is my belief that it was actually Bowie who selected Esther and Jim. He may have appeared as a stray kitten at their front door but he had always been predestined to be their feline. In so doing, his presence in their lives lessened the shock of Whiskee’s unexpected death.
Ten years later Esther remains mystified why a small kitten mirroring Whiskee’s identical colouring would appear just before her only female cat died.
Bowie has a medical condition that separates him from other felines and he remains a medical mystery even to his veterinarian. His blood work is never quite normal and he has been known to grow non-malignant tumours on his body. Esther mentioned that her vet simply accepts that Bowie is an unusual cat and often says, “I keep on having to remind myself that this is Bowie.”
The circumstances around Bowie’s timely arrival, the spontaneous selection of his name and the identical colouring of both felines were so unusual that Esther’s friends believed she should write his story. I agreed with her and she proudly announced that his story had already been written. She promised to forward it for consideration in the first volume of Every Cat Has A Story. Esther’s devotion for her beautiful Bowie is a story that needs to be acknowledged.
How fortunate for Esther that she saw so much beauty in an ugly stray kitten. For the last ten years she has thanked the Universe for providing her with the gift of her beautiful boy.
Bowie has grown into a lovely male but perhaps his beauty has been intensified by Esther’s daily message that he is indeed the most beautiful kitty in the world.
There are some who will scoff at the concept that everything happens within our lives for a reason. This however remains my preference in accepting many of the events I have encountered in my own life. Was it simply chance that a lost kitten would be found on the doorstep of a home mirroring a feline who would shortly be dying? Was it simply a matter of chance that Esther would take her place in a line of strangers only to be standing behind another cat lover? A cat lover working on a book containing stories of unusual feline encounters such as Esther had written? Had the beautiful domestic feline perched on the windowsill observing the queue of people in line not been so endearing would I have mentioned her presence? Perhaps as the reader of this story you are meant to one day also recognize a kitten that has been born and has been placed specifically to add a greater meaning to your life. Maybe you have also known a feline that was uniquely special to you and equally deserves recognition. Every cat does indeed have a story, and their life also deserves to be acknowledged, written and published for other cat lovers to enjoy.
Getting a cat is a greater commitment than getting married.- Seymour and Paula Chwast
This story is taken from Jasmine Kinnear’s Feline Forum on her Confessions of a Cat Breeder web site:
www.confessionsofacatbreeder.com
Catherine writes…
Okay, this is my story…
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.
As I was driving, I saw an SPCA sign. I followed it and ended up at the SPCA’s door. I got out and went in to see the cats. There was this beautiful Chocolate Point Siamese; she was a rescue from a “cat mill” breeder with 39 others. They divided them up between shelters and she was the last one to go at this one. She hadn’t been handled much and was very shy. I asked if I could hold her but was warned that she did not like to cuddle. Yet she took to me like a fish to water. The woman at the shelter who was with me said that she was going to find out more information. Then another person appeared and a moment later yet another person appeared. They all commented on how much this cat was “taking” to me. It was instant karma; I knew I wasn’t leaving without her.
The second lady told me that she had been adopted out, but that woman brought her back because of “allergies” two days ago, after only having the cat for about a week. The woman told them that she didn’t like being held, nor did she cuddle, yet insisted it was because of her “allergies” that she was being brought back. Apparently I was the first person who “the cat” had let touch and hold her like this. I knew the second I held her it was meant to be.
So now I have a new cat. Maggie has been great but she had never really heard a cat cry before, and was quite thrown aback and became excited about it. “The cat” has been great with Maggie and hasn’t hissed or anything. They have been really quite cute together.
We went to see our vet today; she is about two years old and is 5.5 lbs. She won’t get much bigger, she might fill out a little more, but that’s it. She is very shy and likes to either sleep on my chest or hide under the covers in a box. The vet said this will change. Look at what she has been through. She has lived in a cage for most of her life, has never had a name, and within the last little while