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Twelve years ago, after he started living on his own, my son adopted a Siamese mix and called him, “Yoda.” Although a mix, Yoda has the temperament, large ears, huge blue eyes, and the cute, dark face of a true Siamese. He has also acquired their thermosensitivity of the Siamese’s coat coloring. The only part of Yoda that would alert a knowing eye that his iffy bloodline is the slightly rounded shape of his face, as the pure-bred Siamese are known to have elongated faces.
Yoda only takes to my son, nobody else. He has gotten used to my daughter-in-law, and just that, because no one can replace his true owner. Although I have taken care of Yoda numerous times and he stays with me every now and then, he barely tolerates me, and that is when he needs fed or asks for a treat.
Knowing the Siamese psychology, I don’t blame myself or my cat-sitting skills, but I sort of wish he’d jump on my lap and purr like the tabbies I once owned. Maybe it is the Himalayan gene that the Siamese share with rabbits and mice that makes Yoda hop away from me after his needs are met. This could be also because Yoda’s gene memory prevents him from getting on with too many people at a time.
In their country of origin, Siam (now called Thailand), the Siamese cats guarded the Buddhist temples and were considered sacred. Their blood lines were vigilantly protected; and the cats were bred as if they were angels sent from heaven. Later on, the Siamese became the cats of royalty, babysitting for the King’s children.
Inside the “Cat-Book Poems,” a manuscript written in Siam during 1350’s, seal-point Siamese looking like Yoda are pictured. Those cats in those old pictures must be the representations of adult Siamese cats, because a Siamese kitten is pure white at birth. Since the Siamese kitten’s coat is heat-sensitive, in time, it develops the point color: that is, the points on his tail, paws, and face.
At his advanced age, Yoda’s coat still changes color according to heat. When he stays with us, Yoda demands to be let out to the porch. From behind the screen and the glass doors, this cat loves to watch the golf course, the squirrels, the birds, and the golfers goofing up their swings. When Yoda stays in our house, because he goes on the porch so often, his coat lightens up, giving him a younger look.
For an aged cat, Yoda is also very agile. A few days ago, when a squirrel dared climb on the screen mesh to the roof, Yoda suddenly jumped at it, higher than my height.
Yoda’s love of high places must have come down from being of royalty. When alone in the house with me, I usually find him perched on a table or on any other high place as if to rule the world, his kinked tail moving ever so slightly and his large ears alert, watching his environs. Although I don’t tell on this transgression of his, the cat still avoids me. I guess, Yoda can’t help the way he is, since Siamese are famous for emotionally attaching to only one owner.
From the time they are kittens, the Siamese develop their own loud voice and conversational tone. On the occasions when my son is walking out the front door and leaving his cat with me, Yoda stops evading me to complain of his misfortune with his loud voice, as if he is suffering at the hands of a torturer. In those times, he sounds like a baby in pain.
If you want to adopt a Siamese mix, several states have organizations called Siamese Rescue, but if you want to buy a Siamese kitten, you have to go to a breeder. On the average a Siamese kitten will cost for about $500 if pedigreed, or about $250, if he will only be your pet.
Frankly, I don’t care if Yoda is not a purebred. To us, he is royalty and he thinks he is royalty. Still, I wish his highness would give me the some of that a purring affection he exhibits when my son is around.