Siwa Our Siamese Cat

Siwa Our Siamese Cat

by Sharon Haggag
(Hurghada, Egypt)

Siwa - Today on the balcony !!

Siwa - Today on the balcony !!

Hello! We moved to Egypt over 2 years ago, we had always promised our sons a cat when settled into our new home. Omar our oldest son (9) decided to get his cat manual and he read it from front to back and back to front!!! After reading all about the different breeds he decided that a Siamese would fit our family perfectly and also cope with the heat here in Egypt.

Time passed and at last we moved into our long awaited home and settled so now for a cat!! My husband's family are from a city about an hour away from Cairo called Zagazig. I had seen lots of really suspect pet shops there and to be honest had tried not to look too much as I was a bit upset at the standard of the care..

We started to look around and found quite alot of Persian kittens but no Siamese. We spoke to one of the shop keepers and he explained it wasn't the best time for them but in about two months you would find them everywhere as they were one of the most popular and oldest breeds in Egypt!

I never dreamt that there would be Siamese here in Egypt, in fact they are so common here. He offered to take us to a friend's shop to see if he had any kittens (we took along my husband's nephew who is a vet).

We went down a back street (like something from a film set) into a small dark shop and in a cage at the back of the shop was Siwa. She was was all alone and so noisy I had never heard a Siamese before so it came as quite a surprise for me.

My Husband's nephew gave her the once over and said that she was purrfect!!! We estimated her age as about 10/ 11 weeks. We agreed to get her and after alot of haggling they shook hands and did the deal: 60 Egyptian pounds (about 6 pounds English) with a carry case thrown in !!

We decided to make it a surprise for the boys. I was travelling back to Hurghada ( a couple of days before my husband) with the boys so we agreed that he should bring her after we got back.

I secretly got all the stuff we needed for her. The boys were asleep when they arrived. We put her onto Omar's pillow and, of course, she made the loudest miaow ever. Omar opened his eyes he could not believe his eyes !!! It was magical!

Siwa licked his face and Omar kissed her back and that was that the bond sealed...Siwa has just turned a year now and what a cat!!! what a character !!!! She is mustard !!!

You would think with three boys she would find the quietest place in the house but no, not Siwa she is in there with the boys and the playstation !!

She plays tag and hide and seek with them She plays fetch she gets in places that god only knows how she got there and she tells us a story every day !!!

Her favourite place to sleep is the basin in the bathroom!! She has a fascination with water
and she sits on top of the door enjoying it when you move it !!

She also has a stash of toys that she steels from the boys' beds and toy baskets; she has quite a collection now and if you take any away she won't rest til she finds them again.

She has toys that she kills, toys that she puts in her food bowl, toys that she loves and mothers and toys that she disembowels - these are her favourites!

Ive enclosed a photo of her. She has gone quite pale at the moment as she has moulted as summer her HOT HOT HOT.

I think she is more a traditional Siamese see what think !!!

Sharon

Siwa Our Siamese Cat to Siamese Cat Breeders

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Siwa Our Siamese Cat

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Aug 05, 2010
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Guess what happened yesterday!
by: Omar Haggag

Hello everyone!
I am Omar (now 10) the owner of Siwa!
Yesterday an egyptian Mau (which I now call Sunset)
came to our house. It was her second time today so she wasn't scared of my mum.
She is a stray but prehaps the friendliest stray I know! She meows when she is hungry so she was meowing at the top of her voice (she's only a kitten so it wasn't very loud L.O.L!). after we fed her she was still hungry.....................
I was down there at the time finding an ant hive
when I heard her cry so my dad said to feed her some chicken so I did after that she started hugging me and purring I couldn't belive my eyes!
After that I was going upstairs to have a shower I told my mum I was going to call it midnight but then my mum said I should call it Magrib (which is arabic for Sunset) because she always appears at sunset. So from now on I call it Magrib. Siwa is fine & well she is really molting since Egypt is going through a real heat wave! See ya all soon!
Omar


Dec 06, 2009
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cry baby
by: sami osler, shippensburg, pa

My Siamese cat (Sysy) has the baby cry siamese meow. he also guards my house like they guarded temples in the past. he is a traditional style blue point siamese. i love my siamese cat he is the best cat i have ever had. oh yea he also plays fetch.

Traditional Siamese cat on a bed


Sep 07, 2009
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Siwa Our Siamese Cat
by: Finn Frode, Denmark

Your son Omar seems to have studied cats thoroughly before making his decision, and it was nice to read, how he chose the breed based on what kind of cat he believed would best endure the hot climate. Right or wrong, that's a good boy who cares about the cat's welfare first. You can be proud of him for that.


Sep 07, 2009
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Great Timing
by: Michael

Your article couldn't have come at a better time and is most welcome coming from Egypt. I was watching Joanna Lumley on the TV last night presenting her cat program and she visited Egypt as she really had to. Egypt has a long history of association with the domestic cat.

It is a mixed relationship. They worshiped the cat through the god Bastet. Ancient Egyptian Cat Art looks like the Abyssinian cat (I think) but the native (feral) cat of Egypt is the Egyptian Mau. This is a cat that is a purebred show cat of great glamour in the USA and sadly persecuted in Egypt (shot and poisoned as it is considered a pest - this was mentioned by Joanna Lumley but is well recorded).

Your article is very interesting because it shows that this connection with the domestic cat in Egypt, that goes back farther than any other civilisation (possibly), is still present.

Conveniently the Siamese cat too has a very long history and a very interesting one. It comes from Siam (now Thailand) and there is considerable discussion today as to what the original Siamese cat looked like. I say it must have been a traditional Siamese cat and explain my reasons: Siamese Cat History.

Your cat, as you say, is a traditional Siamese cat. And you have a Siamese cat that has all the characteristics of this breed, it seems. A wonderful cat and I must say a great story - thank you very much for sharing.

P.S. You may know that Siamese cat markings (the dark points) are heat sensitive so in a warmer climate I would expect them to be lighter. When born the Siamese is pure white.


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