Mitad's Tale

by Jessica
(New York City)

I had just had to put down Malu, my Siamese that I had for eleven years, and was still devastated, but missed him. Life without a Siamese cat was unbearable!

So when I went to Petco for pet food purchases, I would skim and look through the Siamese cats, knowing that the right one would find me.

Sure enough, there was a young female about two years old, with such a lively expression, named Yin. I immediately inquired and she was in the area, in New York State (not always the case, as several were quite far away!)

We set up a meeting and it was a hit, so away she went with me.

With her new life came a new name. She was so tiny compared to Malu - exactly half his size, so I named her 'Mitad', which means half (of an entire thing) in Spanish.

She began to respond to her new name in a matter of weeks, which was a pleasant surprise.

Mitad adapted quickly, and shares her home with a few other adoptees - a senior black cat, a pit bull mix and a Boston terrier. She is the youngster of the group, but everyone gets along nicely. She follows me everywhere, and her favorite thing is corrugated cardboard.

But more fascinating is her face - she has the most expressive face, like a silent screen actress.

Her eyes will widen in surprise, horror or delight; or narrow in a (rare) display of annoyance. I never tire of watching her react to things in and around the apartment.

She is quite the character!

Reply from Caroline:

Thanks Jessica for sharing Mitad's tale, it's always so heartening to hear about Siamese cats finding their 'forever' homes, and she certainly seems to have settled in well with your other animals.

I hope she has a long and happy life with you.

And how lovely for you, too, that you found another Siamese cat to follow on from Malu. I quite agree that life without a Siamese is unthinkable!

I laughed, hearing about the corrugated cardboard – my cat Bandit loves cardboard too, and never tires of ripping it to shreds.

And Siamese cats do have such expressive faces, it's one of the things that never ceases to fascinate me about them. I love your comparison of Mitad's face to a silent screen actress - that's such a perfect description!