Our Little Smoke Cloud
by Tina
(Idaho)
Quin - a black smoke Maine Coon - Photo added by Michael (Admin) - Photo copyright Helmi Flick
I had just finished my workout and was heading to my car in the parking lot of my local YMCA on a very cold December 2005 day and heard a pitiful little "meow". I called out "here, kitty, kitty, kitty!" and a teeny little kitten that looked so much like a little puff of gray cloud came running as fast as his little legs could carry him.
I picked him up and could feel his ribs, and boy howdy, could he purr!!! I took him to PetCo and picked up a bag of kitten chow which, once we got home, he almost dived head first into, he was so famished!
We hadn't intended to keep him initially, but it took him very little time to worm his way into our hearts that afternoon and we sure are glad we kept him.
Our then family of 7 (we're down to 5 now, as our kids are growing up) voted to name him Smoky and his antics have made us laugh and laugh. It was soon obvious that he was a very unusual kind of kitty, as he would come running at the sound of running water--faucet or toilet flushing, or *ahem* USING the toilet, so we had to be careful to have our boys shut the bathroom door or he would make a running leap for the toilet seat just to investigate!
As a young kitten, it wasn't uncommon to find him playing in a sink, flapping at the water with his increasingly large paws, or playing in a toilet one of the children forgot to close.
Those paws eventually grew great tufts of fur from between the toes, and his coat became longer and softer and fluffier than ever. Oddly, his shoulders, back and legs didn't get long fur!
Between a friend's comment, our vet's best guess and our research, we hazard a guess that our Smoky is part Maine Coon, and those odd things about his coat are part of the breed's physical characteristics. He does love to "talk" to me, with his little chirpy meows that sound like the kitty equivalent of someone rolling their "r"s, and only really meows when he's hungry. It is amazing that his tummy can tell time! Right on the dot; 6:30am for breakfast and 5:30pm for supper, although he's known to try to fudge his supper a bit and ask for it starting at 5:00pm, just in case we are feeling generous. LOL
Smoky is now 4 years old and we think he has finally stopped growing. His coat fluffed out and fluffed out and fluffed out some more, so that he now has what appears to be a very regal ruff of fur beneath his neck and around his cheeks. He never fails to receive comments from company and friends, along the lines of how BIG he is, how beautiful he is (many folks think he's too pretty to be a "he") and just can't stop being amazed. Of course, the doorbell rings because these people come to see him! At least that's the way Smoky sees it, and he comes running every time.
We love having him as part of our family so much that we are keeping our eyes out for another Maine Coon mix who needs a forever home in our area. (Idaho)
Tina
Hi Tina... This made me laugh on more than one occasion. Great story. It seems that lost kittens call out to us (humans) as there are a number of stories that say this and it happened to me too.
If you have a photo we would love to see him:
mjbmeisteatgmail.com
substituting at for @
