1. Seven is one surprise after another, you guys. For a long time I worried there was something wrong with him because – and I know this sounds ridiculous – he’s such a loud breather.
2. I don’t have a lot of experience with kitten rescue so when you’ve got one who sounds all raspy it just seemed like maybe his lungs weren’t okay. I dunno, I’m not a vet, and after each monthly checkup they’d give him a glowing report so I wrote it off to kitten oddities.
3. But instead of getting quieter as he grew this little fella got louder. And louder. And louder still. His purr sounds like a rumbling train. And he chirps. No, I can’t describe it any better than that, he chirps. Weirdo.
4. Then I spoke with the vet last month and things became a lot clearer. She was updating me on Seven’s procedure and asked how he came to us. Here’s a short but sweet version (back when we thought he was a she) which pretty much boils down to the scrappy guy got lucky.
5. Well, the vet’s convinced Seven is an ocicat. She said they have several clients who own the breed and he looks exactly like them. Off I went to google for some kitty knowledge and boy, was it fascinating!
6. I’ll link wikipedia here even though I know, wikipedia, but I swear I found all this stuff on other sites too. The wiki gods just made it extremely user friendly. Let’s roll with that.
7. The ocicat resulted from breeding Siamese and Abyssinians cats. As someone who grew up with a Siamese I adore seeing some of those traits in our Seven. One of them developed out of that loud breathing I talked about.
Seven squeaks just like this guy.
He also tracks birds flying among the trees behind our house and chirps exactly like this fella. When the hawk is active or crows make an appearance Seven can talk nonstop for a good twenty minutes.
8. Plus this cat – I swear to it – actually comes when you call him. BrightSide will back me up on this. It’s the damndest thing but when Bear calls out “c’mon, lil’ bug, it’s time for bed” he’ll take off running to catch her at the stairs.
9. Wiki knowledge says some ocicats even take easily to water which would sure explain why if I’m at the kitchen sink Mia will run for the hills but Seven jumps the bar top to reach me.
10. I love this crazy hodgepodge of a house. We’ve got Phoebe, a dog so catlike she tiptoes across the grass in the backyard like a delicate flower. Now we’ve got Seven, this “dog in a cat’s body” who barrels across the room and bounces off furniture like a big cat on the hunt. It’s wild and nutty and just the right amount of sweet.
Very cool! I think you’ve got an ocicat! All my cats come when called. I’ve never had a cat who didn’t. All of them chirp, but Clara mostly. Clara doesn’t mind a bath. Clara is half Siamese we know. Cletus squeaks. Cletus breathes heavy, we assume he’s imitating the dog 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! Ours breathes heavy all the time, too, and he SNORES. It’s hysterical. Makes it hard to lose track of him, though, so there’s a plus.
LikeLike
Never a dull moment with extraordinary fur babies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely true.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s funny here when I shout the boy cats name, I can here him scamper off. Yep he’s always up to something and he knows it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The guilty face is the best, isn’t it? 😆
LikeLike
I love his squeaks! Our little girl from Thailand, Nong Saio, kind of comes when called – well, at least when I’m heading to bed, she will follow me when I tell her it’s night night time. I suspect that’s mostly because she knows she’s going to have bent legs to curl up behind.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They do love their snuggles. The coming for bedtime and meals makes sense, but my husband can call him to play and that cat will scoot on over. It’s wild!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sweet! I had a couple Aby “rejects” (not perfect enough to show/breed) and they were so affectionate. But so is the little guy from the shelter I have now 🐈⬛ 🐱❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right?! I think cats get a bad rap for not being affectionate. It’s just that *other* people’s cats don’t fawn all over you when you’re at their house. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Laura, a cat that comes when called, now that is a rarity. Keith
LikeLiked by 1 person
It surely is. I remember how my brother taught our Siamese cat to fetch. People think it’s wild when I tell them that but it sure makes sense with Seven now.
LikeLiked by 2 people
How fun and wonderful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This guy is full of surprises. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a surprise! How wonderful that he can make all these different noises. 😻
LikeLiked by 1 person
He’s definitely a talker! It’s fun. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
👍👍👍😻
LikeLiked by 1 person