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This page is dedicated to Chandra (at the Rainbow Bridge), Grimnir, Cormac, Conaire and Mica !
Chandra
Chandra was the very first cat I owned when I left my parents' house. I bought him in Brussels at a small cattery of Blue-Cream Persians. Chandra had no pedigree - maybe because his hair was too short to be a real show-winner. Therefore I was lucky to be able to acquire him at a lesser price - otherwise I would never have been able to afford such a cat at that time !
Chandra knew me in various difficult moments in my life and always was my best friend and my confident. I think I told that cat more than any human alive, and I still think he understood me ! Then he looked at me with his bright golden eyes as if saying "don't worry, it will all be allright." He was a wise cat, never worried and never hurried, always purring with the loudest purr I ever heard.
Unfortunately he suffered a kidney disease, with which he was very first diagnosed when he was one and a half years old. I had been told that Persian cats generally have a long life-span, many lived up to 18 years... but I was not granted that luck with Chandra. He passed away on June 26th 2003, two months before his 13th birthday. He is now at the Rainbow Bridge.
More pictures and the only little video of Chandra that I have to be added soon.
Grimnir
When I first saw Grimnir, he was the biggest kitten in a litter of four and the only male. He was also the only longhair and black&white kitten, it was obvious he had a different father than his little sisters ! My best friend, to whom his mother belonged, told me she saw a big black Persian cat roaming around her house - problem solved ! I chose him out of the litter because he was soooo cute ! And I named him Grimnir, which is one of the names of Odin in Norse mythology and means "the one who wears a mask" (rough translation). When you see his pictures, you'll see why I picked that name ! Grimnir has a very expressionate face and purr !
Grimnir grew and grew... and grew ! He became one of the biggest cats I've ever seen... unfortunately also one of the heaviest. Now he is at his maximum weight : 22 pounds. He might look magnificent, but there's a downside to this : Grimnir has many health problems. It is he who has turned me into a cat-vet ! He suffered from eosinophilic granuloma the first 4 years of his life, and when he was just in his 4th year, he was diagnosed with diabetes after a horrible weekend of illness.
So now I give him insulin shots twice a day - and he manages well. My vet assured me that he could have a normal life-span. I should put him on a diet, but I admit that I don't do that - since one of his greatest pleasures in life is eating.
Grimnir is the father-figure among my cats. He helped to raise Cormac and Conaire when they just arrived two years after him, and three more years later he helped to raise Mica !
More pictures to be added soon.
Cormac and Conaire
I can only mention these two together. They are brothers from the same litter, originally coming from a colleague of mine's. When she said that she was "stuck with two cats she couldn't get rid of", my heart just melted. I can't help it. Under general consternation from my (now ex) boyfriend and my parents, I kept my point and brought the two little ones home in the summer of 2000. They have always been together and I'm sure those two were not meant to be separated !
I named them Cormac and Conaire after two mythical heroes of the Irish mythology. They were not really brothers, but I found the names fitting. And finally they are very similar, but also very different. The keen observer will notice that Cormac is much slimmer than Conaire, for instance, and his nose markings are different. Conaire looks a bit like a clown and also acts like one. Cormac is a real hunter, while Conaire is more likely to be found inside the house. But they are both very affectionate, and when inside they are real lap cats ! They have no pedigree, but what's that piece of paper compared to all this love and purrs ?
Mica
Picture following soon.
Mica is the latest addition to the herd ! He's my only pure-bred : a Maine Coon. And he's absolutely magnificent, although by far not full-grown yet.
Mica was born in Bruges on April 13th, 2003. His official name is Baiko Bengt of Magic Angel, but I named him "Mica" which means "smart raccoon" in Iroquois Indian tongue. At the age of 6 months he already weighed more than 6 pounds, and he has giant claws and large paws. He's an incredibly smart cat, and gets along with all the others really well - probably because he's not afraid of anyone or anything (except the vacuum cleaner).
Mica could be a show-cat, but I don't intend to show him. When he'll be a year old, he'll be neutered and he will enjoy a quiet cat's life, without all the stress and hassle of the cat-shows.
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