Caturday felids: trifecta!

Three cat items up today, all contributed by readers.

The Cat of the Week, Mr. Darcy, belongs to one of our posters, Matthew.

Mr. Darcy was a stray who lived in our back yard. We left food out for him and he eventually took to staring patiently in at us from the back door. After a very cold winter we arranged to have him snipped so that we could take him to a rehoming shelter. One of the landlords didn’t want a third cat in the house, but after a week indoors recovering from his operation, much to my delight, he became a full member of the household. I think he was very appreciative of his improved living arrangements (as you can see, we fed him well). Unfortunately, as a stray he must have got into some fights and, after two years with us, he became ill and succumbed to FIV. He was a very gentle cat and extremely loyal. He is much missed, but I’m very glad we got the chance to give him a good life for those two years and a much more peaceful end than he would have found outdoors. He certainly left his mark on those of us who loved him. I think this should serve as encouragement to those lookng for a cat to check their local shelters first. A genuine cat lover should find the thought of a homeless cat heart-breaking and knowing a cat is a rescue can add something special to the bond between owner and human.

As for his name, well, it’s not from D’Arcy Thompson.  Think Pride and Prejudice:

He was called Mr. Darcy for two reasons. He used to stare at Peanut, a chocolate Burmese and one of the female cats in the house, but held off on courting her aggressively. There was a veneer of disdain on her part, but we suspected she was interested. Secondly, we always thought he looked very gentlemanly, especially with his impressive jowls and chest.

Fig. 1.  The late Mr. Darcy.  Un matou formidable!

Fig. 2.  Darcy and his friend Perrin, “a troublesome
Tonkinese who Mr. Darcy helped calm down somewhat.”

Up second is an unknown marbled tabby who visited reader Aaron this week.  It has one of the prettiest coats I’ve seen.  Aaron notes, “I don’t know much about it except that it was friendly and well taken care of.  (If it had been a stray we probably would have adopted it, which might not have gone over well with our current cat.)”

Fig. 3.  Unknown but elegant.

Finally, from substitute-blogger Greg Mayer, an article from yesterday’s New York Times, “Meow Spoken Here,” about New Yorker Tammy Cross and her kitten-rescuing operation, which she runs out of her apartment on the West Side. Cross is decidedly not a crazy cat lady, and it’s a nice read.  If you’re an ailurophile, you’ll want to watch the audio slide show.