Dax - Tiny Kitten to Big Cat

Little Dax, the sweet looking kitten that we adopted from our Vet's office, seemed to be the perfect companion for our small, rescued cat Blaze, but we soon realized that because of his wild heritage, he was filled with spit and vinegar. Then, when he kept growing and passed up Blaze Star when he was just a few months old, we began to wonder if we had made the right decision.

Now, 7 years later, he has mellowed out quite a lot, though he is still a bit of a bully. We would not give him up for anything and we are all managing well since he sleeps with the male dog (who is closer in size to him). Here is more of Dax's story.

All photographs are the property of Al and Y.L. Bordelon. All rights reserved

We first met Dax a couple of months after we lost Amphi, our 15 year old cat. We had stopped by Dr. Maher's office to pick up some medicine for one of our other pets and there was an adorable orange kitten sitting on the receptionist's lap. He was a little over 5 weeks old and had the bluest eyes we'd ever seen.

My husband held him while we heard his story. Sometime after Hurricane Katrina, a friend of Dr. Maher's was looking at a boat down in Venice, Louisiana, when Dax's little 7 pound mother just jumped into his arms. She was pregnant, so he brought her back to Covington to his friend, the vet. It just so happened that Amphi (our old cat that had just passed away) had also come from Venice, Louisiana. We found her in 1991, when she was about 5 weeks old, and we were on a fishing trip down there. Amphi passed away in late March and little Dax was born on April 6.

The coincidence was just too much to ignore. It was like he was meant to be with us and since his mother was a very small cat, we thought he would make a nice companion for our little Blaze Star. So we took him home that day in May on a trial basis to see if the rest of our pack would accept him.

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Needless to say, our pack accepted him, so we set about finding him a proper name. Since his Mom came from a fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico, we searched for names that had to do with water. We found the name "Dax" which has something to do with being by water and it is also the name of one of the Deep Space Nine characters, Judsia Dax. Since we feel that some of Amphi, our old cat, has been passed on to Dax something like the way the Dax symbiont is passed on to a new host, we decided that Dax was the name for him.

It's also a short, one syllable name which is easy to say in a hurry. This feature continues to come in handy as he is the ultimate mischief maker and would be very much at home with Harry Potter's map.

This is a wonderful book for both new and experienced cat owners.

This innocent looking puffball had the heart and spirit of a lion. He was (and is) fearless. Nothing bothered him. He pounced on everything that was furry or feathery and Blaze Star was his favorite target. We found out later that he used to pounce on his mother, too. We thought that he would grow out of all this boundless energy and that he would mellow out with age. This didn't happen as much as we had hoped.

Dax did grow... and grow... and grow, but he is still full of mischief and he still pounces on Blaze and plays like a kitten.

We soon got tired of turning on the faucet for Dax. This automatic water fountain helped a lot.

Dax loves water. We guess it's because his "roots" are on the Gulf Coast. You can't take a shower without him accompanying you and sometimes he'll pat you through the shower curtain. His favorite place to play with toys is in the bathtub, so we have to check for mice and balls before we start the water. He uses the tub like a skateboard ramp and runs up and down the sides, then jumps out at a full run. Even now that he weighs almost 20 pounds, he still plays this game.

Another of his quirks is that he will only drink out of a water bowl as a last resort. He wants fresh water, straight from the tap. We spent so much time turning on and off the water faucet, that we decided to get one of those electric cat fountains. He uses it occasionally, but still does his cute head bump tactic whenever we go near the sink so that we'll turn on the water. If that doesn't work, he just parks himself in the sink and waits, while looking sad and licking the tap. If this doesn't work, then he will take his big paw and tip over any cup or glass of liquid that is within reach. He enjoys watching it drip on the floor.

Dax has toy mice hidden all over the house and he always wants more.

Dax is truly one of the pack. He sleeps with the dogs, rubs on the dogs and plays with the dogs. He also brings his white toy mouse to Al so that he can throw it and then Dax dives to catch it and brings it back to Al to throw again. We think Dax may be a little confused about his heritage since his "nurse-maid" at the Vet's office was a little part Chihuahua dog.

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Dax loved his little black stuffed cat. This would make a good gift for a child who loves cats.

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Dax the tiny orange photogenic kitten who is now a handsome, muscular, 18 pound cougar-like cat, never ceases to to amaze us with his unique personality.

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Cat-Ology Leonardo 1000 Piece Puzzle
Price: 9.99
Dax would enjoy helping with this gorgeous puzzle. He's so creative.

Designs by naturegirl7 All calendars can be customized by adding or changing text, date, year and calendar style.

... perhaps, you'd like to donate to the Humane Society to help other homeless cats.

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