Welcome To the Smelker's AKA a Menagerie
Almost a year ago, our family had to make the hard decision to put our
Maine Coon, Serena, to sleep. She had crept into our hearts the way no other cat has.
We have brought two new cats into the house since then, but neither of them are Maine Coon cats (although we love them dearly). The Maine Coon is special. We have not actively looked for one for couple of reasons, we have four cats already and really don't need another one, and the other reason is we didn't realise how much we missed having a Maine Coon around.
At the beginning of June, Teagan bought a frog. While we were at the pet store, I noticed a gorgeous male Maine Coon. Now, I know better than to buy a pet from a pet store, so I did no more than look briefly at him, think he was gorgeous and enquire how much they were selling him for. I almost lost it when they told me $1000! You can get one from a reputable breeder for less than that!!
When I got home that afternoon, I told Terry about the Maine, and his response was typical - we don't need any more pets. Well of course I know that! Anyway, a couple of days later he had to return to the pet store to buy some crickets for the frog. He called me from the store and said, "OK, that Maine is gorgeous! If we had a $1000 in the budget I would so be bringing him home." Of course, he knows better. Then he said, "You know, seeing this Maine make me realise how much I miss Serena. I really think we should look at getting another Maine Coon." Just a week earlier a Maine Coon Cat rescue group had advertised on craigslist, looking for people to adopt a slew of kittens they had rescued from a Kill shelter in Austin. I asked him if he was serious because we could get one of those kittens for less than $150. He said yes, so I called the woman immediately.
We filled out the paperwork that day! The organisation called all our references, and our vet. We passed the adoption test, but had to wait three weeks for our new kitten. She was severely underweight, was flea infested and so filled with worms they were coming out both ends. She responded well to the treatments and her foster mother fell in love with her. However, this weekend she was ready to come home, so Terry and I made the drive to Austin to get her. Her foster mother has done a great job of socialising this little one, and she has made a seamless adjustment into our home as a result.
We came up with a name for her the same day we saw photos of her. We decided to use an African name, so I picked a Xhosa name meaning 'nurturing love'. The name is Thandi, pronounced Tun-dee.
So, without further ado, here is our new baby making herself at home in the little cat tower we have.
Labels: kitten, Maine Coon, Serena, Thandi, Xhosa
R.I.P.
On Garrick's first birthday we decided we were ready for a new pet. We had been a petless home for a while, and we missed the antics of a kitten. I drove with the 4 kids to the Dearborn Animal Shelter and watched about 20 kittens at eating time to see how a kitten would react to little ones. One kitten was so complacent and placid that when Teagan, who was three at the time picked her up while she was eating, she just placed one cheek on Teagan's and purred. Serena came home with us.
The kids treated her like a baby doll, even going so far as to put a bonnet on her, and place her in a stroller and take her through the house. She suffered these indignities with good grace; and if you were to put your ear to her chest you'd hear a rumbling purr. She knew no strangers and would jump into any lap. Christmas was her favourite season, and as soon as the Christmas tree came out you could not budge her. The tree skirt would have to be fully vacuumed after the season was done! She would pull gifts out of the way in order to lie under the tree.
Serena was not a small cat - her breed, Maine Coons, are known for being large, and she certainly fit the bill. Her paws were massive, and like all Maine Coons she had plenty of thick fur, and two cinnamon stripes of colour running down her back. Her big bright eyes reflected her sunny disposition.
She was born at the shelter on August 12th 1999. In July 2001 she was hit by a car (we think) one day after she escaped from the house. She was missing for almost 14 days and was more than likely hit the day she escaped. We prayed daily she would return. She did - a very injured, and very thin Serena pulled herself to our back door which is where Warrick found her. She had a broken hip, a broken femur, a broken tibia - in short she was a total mess. We could have chosen to put her to sleep then, but instead opted for the very expensive surgery to repair as much of the damage as we could. Terry and I both felt it would be grossly unfair to put her down after she spent 14 days dragging her broken rear end to get home.
In 2003 we moved to San Antonio and she made the long 4-day trip in the van with us. She went camping with us, stayed at a hotel with us (we smuggled her in) and as ever, was calm, placid and accepting of her new quarters.
Through the years other cats have come and gone in the Smelker household, we have moved numerous times, but Serena has been very secure in her place in the house - she was the matriarch and she knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She kept the other cats in line, and was always quietly in charge.
However in the last 18 months we had seen signs of deterioration in Serena. She lost two upper canine teeth, she was gaining weight (something she already had enough of), was no longer able to jump on the back of the couch, or jump up to get water from the sink (for a long time she would ONLY drink fresh running water!) The vet put her on a restricted diet, and we had surgery done on her teeth, but there was no appreciable improvement.
Then this last week for no apparent reason she really seemed to struggle to get around, and it was obvious to Terry and I that although she wanted to walk the pain was almost too much for her. We made the very hard, almost unbearable decision to take Serena in this morning to be put to sleep.
We will miss our big girl so much – we had almost 8 years with her; 8 good years, 8 years of appreciating her unique personality and love. Serena loved people, and her solid presence was a comfort to us all in rough times.
Rest in Peace Serena
Born: August 12th 1999
Died: July 18th 2007
This photo was taken this morning as I brushed her for the last time.
Labels: Christmas, Garrick, RIP, Serena
We Really Lucked Out!!
Seven and a half years ago I decided that I wanted a kitten, so I went over to the Dearborn Animal Shelter, checked out about 20 kittens and came home with Serena. I picked her because she was fluffy and had an interesting coloration. At our first vet visit he commented that he thought she was almost pure Maine Coon Cat, a popular breed of cat that is known to be affectionate, friendly, placid, outgoing and an all-round good cat. Serena has proven to be just that.
Then a month ago we came home with Drake, thinking he was going to grow into a large ginger tom. Both Terry and I were interested to note that he was not so much striped as 'dotted', almost as though he was a wild cat, like an Ocelot. Yesterday I took him to the vet for his first round of shots, and my vet commented on the spots and said, "He looks like an Ocicat." Turns out the Ocicat resembles the Ocelot, but there is no 'wild' DNA in the Ocicat's gene pool. The species is actually a mixture of Siamese and Abyssinian cats, and is a new and still-rare breed of cat which has spots resembling a 'wild' cat and the temperament of a domestic animal, named for its resemblance to the ocelot.
I checked out a website that had photos of pure-bred Ocicat kittens. Here is one of their photos:
And here is one of Drake, taken just yesterday. Tell me that is not nearly a pure-bred??
The cool thing about this breed (and Drake must be at least half Ocicat) is that according to breeders they can be trained like dogs, and like dogs, they like to hang out with their people and are extremely social animals. I can't believe that we lucked out like this - two almost pure-bred cats for the fraction of the cost of buying one through a breeder!
Labels: Drake, Serena
They Call It Puppy Love
Just a couple of photos of my dog and one cat - a love-love relationship
And tonight, Dad and Teagan decided to enjoy some time on the floor together - it was not long before Josh and Serena decided they needed company!
Labels: Joshua, Serena, Teagan, Terry
Pets Are People Too
I belong to a forum of great gals (some guys too!) and one of the boards is "Pets Are People Too" and people post photos of their pets. Seeing I had just blogged about our brat-cat Chloe, who behaves more like a child than a cat, I thought I would put photos of the remaining pets on the blog. Chloe, our calico was abandoned at a very young age, 4 weeks I think and really bonded with us as a result. But sometimes she really does act like a kid with us, and even backchats when we tell her no!
Serena is our 'old lady' - sedate, queenly and tells us when she wants attention.
Joshua our little dog is also known as the dog of little brain - nice to look at, but not the brightest bulb in the fixture.
And Monty is a python (hence the name). We put him in a cardboard box when it is time to eat, normally he is in a large cage, or around our necks!
Labels: Chloe, Joshua, Serena, snake
Our "other" kids
Our family loves animals, and we are the proud owners of 3 cats, 1 dog and 1 snake.
The snake is a Ball Python (called that because of the way they will curl up when threatened). I never thought I would like a snake, but I have to say, this snake has captured our hearts. She is 18 months old now, and is approximately 2 and half feet long. She will grow no longer than 4 feet, which is perfect.
Joshua our dog is a stray we took in once we moved (actually so are the Calico and the grey cat). San Antonio has a real pet population problem. Too many people here think it's cruel to spay or neuter their pet, or they just don't care. I found Josh running desperately from person to person in the cold outside Carson's school one morning. He had so many fleas that it took an hour and a half in the shower with a comb and flea shampoo to clean him off.
Anyone else out there with a soft spot?
Labels: Chloe, Joshua, Serena, snake
