Falling in Unrequited Love with a Siamese
Mix: Yoda, the Cat
by: Joy Cagil
Twelve years ago, after he started living on his own, my
son adopted a Siamese mix and called him, "Yoda." Although a
mix, Yoda has the temperament, large ears, huge blue eyes,
and the cute, dark face of a true Siamese. He has also
acquired their thermosensitivity of the Siamese's coat
coloring. The only part of Yoda that would alert a knowing
eye that his iffy bloodline is the slightly rounded shape of
his face, as the pure-bred Siamese are known to have
elongated faces.
Yoda only takes to my son, nobody else. He has gotten
used to my daughter-in-law, and just that, because no one
can replace his true owner. Although I have taken care of
Yoda numerous times and he stays with me every now and then,
he barely tolerates me, and that is when he needs fed or
asks for a treat.
Knowing the Siamese psychology, I don't blame myself or
my cat-sitting skills, but I sort of wish he'd jump on my
lap and purr like the tabbies I once owned. Maybe it is the
Himalayan gene that the Siamese share with rabbits and mice
that makes Yoda hop away from me after his needs are met.
This could be also because Yoda's gene memory prevents him
from getting on with too many people at a time.
In their country of origin, Siam (now called Thailand),
the Siamese cats guarded the Buddhist temples and were
considered sacred. Their blood lines were vigilantly
protected; and the cats were bred as if they were angels
sent from heaven. Later on, the Siamese became the cats of
royalty, babysitting for the King's children.
Inside the "Cat-Book Poems," a manuscript written in Siam
during 1350's, seal-point Siamese looking like Yoda are
pictured. Those cats in those old pictures must be the
representations of adult Siamese cats, because a Siamese
kitten is pure white at birth. Since the Siamese kitten's
coat is heat-sensitive, in time, it develops the point
color: that is, the points on his tail, paws, and face.
At his advanced age, Yoda's coat still changes color
according to heat. When he stays with us, Yoda demands to be
let out to the porch. From behind the screen and the glass
doors, this cat loves to watch the golf course, the
squirrels, the birds, and the golfers goofing up their
swings. When Yoda stays in our house, because he goes on the
porch so often, his coat lightens up, giving him a younger
look.
For an aged cat, Yoda is also very agile. A few days ago,
when a squirrel dared climb on the screen mesh to the roof,
Yoda suddenly jumped at it, higher than my height.
Yoda's love of high places must have come down from being
of royalty. When alone in the house with me, I usually find
him perched on a table or on any other high place as if to
rule the world, his kinked tail moving ever so slightly and
his large ears alert, watching his environs. Although I
don't tell on this transgression of his, the cat still
avoids me. I guess, Yoda can't help the way he is, since
Siamese are famous for emotionally attaching to only one
owner.
From the time they are kittens, the Siamese develop their
own loud voice and conversational tone. On the occasions
when my son is walking out the front door and leaving his
cat with me, Yoda stops evading me to complain of his
misfortune with his loud voice, as if he is suffering at the
hands of a torturer. In those times, he sounds like a baby
in pain.
If you want to adopt a Siamese mix, several states have
organizations called Siamese Rescue, but if you want to buy
a Siamese kitten, you have to go to a breeder. On the
average a Siamese kitten will cost for about $500 if
pedigreed, or about $250, if he will only be your pet.
Frankly, I don’t care if Yoda is not a purebred. To us,
he is royalty and he thinks he is royalty. Still, I wish his
highness would give me the some of that a purring affection
he exhibits when my son is around.
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