Meet Ashleigh Attila, my Pater Familias

This is Ashleigh Attila, a quintessential bluepoint Himalayan and father of all the Puttikins.  He wasn't meant to be the head of quite such a LARGE clan, but nature slipped two litters into the equation in the space of four months and that was that.

What I have discovered, much to my surprise and consternation, is that there is a prejudice AGAINST long-haired and pedigreed cats now.  They do require more grooming, although short-haired cats should be combed regularly as well.  What disturbs me, however, is the idea that pedigreed cats do not need to be rescued and that one always should go to a shelter when looking for a feline companion.

Ashleigh Attila and Beauty both are pedigreed cats but they definitely needed to be rescued.  When I acquired them, they both were infested with fleas and ear mites.  It was a disgrace.  The owner was breeding the cats entirely without being able to give them proper care and she was charging an arm and a leg for the kittens, even though they were neglected.  She was a widow whose husband had been the original breeder.  When he died, I surmise that she felt she could earn a little extra money by continuing to breed them.   I did telephone her a couple of times after I took the two home to offer to help her eradicate the fleas and the ear mites that plagued the remaining cats in her house but she was not interested.  What does one do in such a situation?  If one reports the person, it could be worse for the animals as they could be euthanised.

In any case, my darling Puttikins may be purebred but it is wrong for people to tell me I should have adopted cats from a shelter.  I admit I have a fondness for Himmys as my original cat clan was Himalayan.  They died ultimately of old age and without leaving a new generation for me to love.  When I saw the photo of Ash, he looked as though he could be the progeny of my original Ashley and Anastasia, two of my original Cats.  I fell in love with him instantly and vowed to bring him home.

Unfortunately, I think the woman sensed my determination and her price was a bit outrageous.  Nonetheless, I never could regret the impulse that took me to her door to adopt Ash and Beauty.

When Beauty had her first litter, I discovered that most people were unwilling to adopt long-haired purebred kittens.  It has become a political point rather than a matter of simple love of animals.  What was truly shocking was the fact that Beauty became pregnant again while still nursing her first litter.  She was very young and I never imagined she would have ONE litter at her age, let alone two.

She was so exhausted when the second litter was born that I had to feed the babies myself.  It took her a fortnight to recover from the ordeal and much to my dismay, I found that she was nursing the OLDER Putti!  I was furious with them but at the same time, slightly amused.  It was quite a busy time for me, as there were four new Putti to raise.  I continued to hand-feed the 'Tiny Babies' as I could not persuade Beauty to concentrate on them.  She was bonded to the first litter, it appeared, and spent hours nursing and grooming THEM, even though they were quite capable of feeding themselves by this time.

I made certain there would be no new Puttikins after that, although the experience of any birth, and especially cat births, is utterly magical to me.  It was so exciting to anticipate the next kitten to be born, to speculate as to its colour and gender.  It felt rather like unwrapping Christmas gifts!

That is the history of the Puttikins, all of whom are the children of Beauty and Ashleigh Attila.  Beauty, by the way, is a gorgeous marmalade Persian/Himalayan.  Many of her children are flamepoints, carrying her colouring in their 'points' with their father's characteristic colourpoint markings.