Pierre

Well, I couldn't think of anything earth shattering so today, you get the story of Pierre. There are some of you who read this who are quite familiar with Pierre. I believe you all have scars to prove your acquaintance. :-)

Pierre is my first American Bobtail. Of course at the time, we didn't know about American Bobtails. We knew he wasn't a Manx. He did look just like a Japanese Bobtail that we knew, JB. So, we just kind of assumed that Pierre was some sort of JBT mix. Now that I know the Americans, I know better.

Pierre came to me at about 3 weeks old. There were three in the litter. Robespierre, Robere and Jean Tom. The French kitty litter. Pierre had almost no tail. Robere's tail was a bit longer. I now know his tail was perfect. And Jean Tom had everything they were missing plus his own. :-) Pierre is a brown classic tabby and white with the cutest little clown mark over his left eye. Robere is red and Jean Tom is red and white. I know, those of you who know me are wondering why didn't you keep Robere? Because at the time I was anti-red cat. I know, hard to believe. I never wanted a red cat until I got one. But at this point I was only fostering and adopting out. I wasn't keeping any of the kitties. All three got placed. The people who adopted Pierre, paid to have him declawed and then changed their minds. So I kept him. Because Mom's cat Lily hated Pierre, he had to live elsewhere for awhile. I would get him on weekends for shows.

Pierre's very first show as a HHPK he was Best of the Best out of 17 kittens. Pretty cool. It was all down hill from there. Pierre developed an attitude. Grrrr.........The problem with Pierre was that there was no warning sign before he would bite. You could be petting him and the next thing you know, chomp. That's why I used to warn people, do not look away while petting him. Right Mom?

Anyone who would pet sit for me got branded by Pierre. Mom, Dad, Kelly, Bonnie and Emily's Dolly all felt Pierre's wrath. Poor Dolly got beat up one time. :-( There were also a couple of judges who felt Pierre's dentistry. So....Pierre retired from the show circuit.

This of course is no means typical of the breed. It's how they're raised. If you raise the cats in cages or limit the social interaction, you get a Pierre. If you love them, cuddle them and don't cage them, you get a Polar or Pony. I found out years later, while Pierre was still in a snit about life, from an animal communicator, that Pierre was mistreated in the home he stayed in for awhile. This of course was all during his formative time. I was instructed to apologize to Pierre for leaving him there. I did. After that, he mellowed out. Not completely, but somewhat. He's getting there.

Like all of my cats, even Mila, I wouldn't trade Pierre for anything. Even with all of his moodiness, there is nothing more special than having Pierre lay on my pillow, purring and massaging my temple. Who needs Advil???

meow for now
melissa