Confessions of a Cat Breeder

Sometimes, I feel trapped between the two worlds of humans and felines.

For instance, when I encounter an outside cat, I am usually greeted as a member of the feline family. I know my place, and I always allow the approaching cat the required 'feline time' to study me. With facial expressions and sounds, I identify myself as part of their world.

The reactions are mixed. Sometimes, they make a bolt towards me and start screaming loudly, as if announcing that I am the largest cat they've ever met. Some, more timid cats, need additional encounters to eventually realize that I know my place, and am one with them.

While walking early one morning, I came across a Blue Point Siamese. Even though it was pouring rain, he surprised me by approaching from behind, screaming loudly in greeting. Even from a distance, he knew I was somehow different, not quite feline, but not totally human either.

It was cold, and we were both wet. He didn't seem interested in the food I offered, so we decided to simply walk together. For several blocks, as I made my election ad deliveries, he stayed at my side while I walked from house to house. Finally, as we neared the edge of his comfort territory, he jumped onto a fence beside the road.

I walked over to him, and without saying a word, we touched noses several times, while he purred loudly in my face. We had spent some quality time together, and we ended it by properly exchanging our parting scents.

What a nice encounter, I thought, as we parted ways. And I wondered why some encounters with the males of my own species couldn't be as simple and sweet.

As a writer, I spend more time alone and with felines, than with other people. I sometimes wonder, if my heart-based understanding and love for cats, is intercepted by 'feline radar' when I'm outside my home.

I was raised in a family that always had dogs, and eventually bred them. However, even at a young age, I knew I was not a 'dog person', and that canines did not lie within my personal comfort level. I had always wanted a cat, but my father had an unreasonable distrust of them.

From the time I was four years old, cats would follow me home. Somehow, pregnant, domestic queens would find their way into my bedroom. Did they know my true direction in life?

At present, I reside in a multi-cat family, and I know this is my true destiny. Being a feline behavior consultant is a labor of love, and I am constantly learning through my contacts with other breeders, and many cats.

My seventeen year old son thinks that having a dog would be cool. He complains about the cat hair on his clothes, and my strange fascination with felines. As soon as he gets his own place, he wants to fill it with canines.