The Amazing Cat

Based on my experience with Siamese cats, I would venture to say that they are remarkably intelligent and psychic. I had the honour of sharing 5 years of my life with a beautiful male cat named “Lobsang”. Of all the cats for sale in the pet shop, Lobsang stood up from the midst of them all and looked at me in the eyes, meowed and you could tell he had chosen me. I took him home.

I enjoyed his company a lot and we became best friends. I was his favorite human female. He seemed to sense my moods and read my thoughts. Just a look into my eyes and he knew if I was in need of comfort, in a playful mood, or depressed. Depending on my reactions, he would jump into my lap and make himself comfortable, purr and allow me to pet him so both of us would calm down and be at peace.

Sometimes he acted like a dog.

Who said there is no such thing as cat training? My cat would bring me his favorite ball or any object he was playing with --especially if it was a piece of paper crumbled into a ball-- and expect me to throw it down the corridor so he could go get it and bring it back to me. I would repeat it over and over and Lobsang would catch the ball in his mouth and faithfully deliver it to me. Maybe he learned by watching his canine friend.

Cat and dog were inseparable

My husband and I were both in our 20s when we got married in Spain back in 1971 . We decided to wait a couple years to have our first baby and get a couple of pets in the mean time. Lobsang was purchased at the same time as a Boxer puppy named "Lopez". They both grew together since they were only 2 months old and became best friends. It was adorable to see them cuddling up and sleeping in the same spot. When it was time to eat, their bowls were side by side and they would respect each other's right to eat all their food.

Lobsang was always teasing Lopez, jumping on him, biting the rolls of his skin playfully, riding him and grabbing his leg with his own four claws at the same time that he bit him gently.That poor dog was so patient, never crossed or angry, but when he had enough of the cat, he would start licking him with his slobbery tongue accross the face and head and that did it. Lobsang was totally offended and grossed out and would depart from his presence to fix himself up for quite awhile, leaving Lopez sighing in relief and using the truce to take a nap.

One summer, my husband and I went on vacation to another country and could not take the pets with us, so we placed one with my parents and one with his. The animals did not see each other for a whole month. When we came back, we picked up the cat and the three of us went to my in-laws to get the dog. I will never forget the scene of their reencounter! Lobsang meowed and grunted happily at Lopez, jumped all over him, licked his face and displayed happy emotions in a most unusual way, while Lopez limited himself to wag his short tail while giving Lobsang a couple of welcoming licks. Needless to say, all we humans were teary eyed.

The balloons

Our 5 yr. old neighbor invited our family to his birthday party. Of course, Lobsang and Lopez came along. His parents had purchased some wholesale balloons and were inflating them with a pump. They used them to decorate the room and also allowed the kids to freely toss them around.

Everything was going fine until one of the kids got the pump and started blowing air in Lopez's face, which he did not like. He barked at them and woke Lobsang up. The kid tossed the balloon to the sleepy cat, who pawed it for awhile and unsuccessfully pounced on its prey, as the balloon would fly out of his reach. Both, cat and dog started chasing the balloon trying to bite it until Lopez managed to secure it with his paws. Lobsang was scientifically examining and smelling the ballon very closely when Lopez proceeded to give it a big slobbery bite... The balloon suddently popped in their faces, startling the animals so much, that they both got up and ran out of the room as fast as they could.

One funny detail is that Lopez was trying to run so fast that his paws slid on the polished floor and he almost fell down trying to escape from the balloon. It was just like a cartoon come to life and left all the guests laughing in stitches.

You probably won't believe this story but it truly happened! Back in 1973, when my first daughter was born, I was very involved with her and spent most of the first month taking care of my baby. Lobsang never showed signs of jealousy or animosity towards her, but I noticed that he wasn't so playful. I thought he may be getting old and I didn't take it too seriously.

One night, some friends came over for dinner and we decided to play the Ouija Board (You display the letters of the alphabet around in a circle and place a cup in the middle. Everybody puts one finger on the cup and asks a question. For some reason, the cup moves around and goes from letter to letter forming words and answers).One player keeps record of all the letters and sentences being created.  Some think they are communicating with spirits, others think it is the collective subconsciousness of the players, others prefer to believe it is all a big farse.

The answers were becoming quite interesting. The cat was sitting there looking at us intently. Suddenly the cup moved and started forming the words: "I am very sad..you don't spend time with me anymore." We were all surprised and looking at each other's spouses, wondering who was communicating. I asked, "Who are you?" and the cup formed the word: the cat. Everyone was shocked and looked at the animal. One said, "If you are the cat communicating, leave the room right now". And my faithful Lobsang jumped down from the chair and left the room. The hair on the back of our necks stood up and some excused themselves and left, while I ran after my friend and cuddled him up, petted him, cried and told him how much I loved him and how important he was to me. I brought him in my arms close to my baby's crib and allowed him to smell and look at her for awhile, at the same time that I comforted and reassured him of my love. He seemed to understand that I loved both baby and him and he left it at that. He was his own happy self from then on and very accepting and fond of the newcomer.