Castor "Beanie Weenie"

Castor's doing well. He's just over two years old in Oct, 2005. He really is The Perfect Cat. He does no bite, plays moderately, and follows me around, being cute and lovey. His only drawbacks are that he decided he does not like to be picked up (tough luck, kiddo) and he creates a lot of hair.

He is interesting as a little personality. He is very intelligent, compared to Zero. He's the Machiavelli of cats. He knows how to ambush Zero in devious ways - his favorite being the Aerial Attack. I built a cat enclosure to keep them from wandering. Castor knows how to get out of it, so I have to watch him when we are sitting on the cat porch. (He comes in when I do. I have a deal with the rescue to not let him loose and I am keeping that deal. )

I think my favorite thing about him is the blue eyes. I have never had a blue eyed cat before, so I spend a lot of time looking at him. He is pretty used to it by now. Unlike most cats, he does not find my staring at him particulary alarming. Zero, on the other hand, reacts with dilated pupils and an urge to climb my leg.

This photo was taken in late September, 2003. Castor may have been about 10-12 weeks old. He took a liking to the place and explored the kitchen with fearless confidence. Castor came from the Persian and Himalayan Cat Rescue. They rescue purebred and look-alike cats of the long haired persuasion. Castor was rescued from a high-kill shelter in Sacramento. The vet at the shelter contacted a rescuer in the area and she scooped him up, along with some Siamese and Siamese look-alike moms and kittens. Initially, Castor looked like a Birman with some flawed markings and hair that was not long enought, but now, he is displaying some interesting roots. He been developing stripes and is fur is getting even darker. So, maybe he is part Birman, part Ragdoll and part Ambition. Regardless of his provenance, he is the absolute softest animal I have every had the joy to squeeze. He is even softer than my rabbit, Velocity. If you look at the two photos, you can see how his coat changed as he matured. That was really interesting. Apparently, pointed cats like Birmans, Ragdolls, Siamese and Himalayans is that the kittens can be born pure white and then start changing color. If you want a "show" kitty and don't have the 600 dollars to buy one, check out the Persian and Himalayan Cat Rescue. Usually, they have adult cats, but once in a while, they have kittens. I do recommend adult cats. They are less likely to climb the curtains and raise hell in the middle of the night.