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Ariel is a Domestic Longhair (that is to say, a cat of mixed breed
with a lot of fur) who we adopted from the Oregon Humane Society in June of 2000, at the age of seven. She had been
sick for several weeks and the shelter could no longer keep her, so we took her in. The folks at the shelter were so grateful that they didn't have to go through with euthanizing her, they let me take her home without the usual paperwork and fees. Despite the number of cats we already had, I knew that such a sweet, beautiful cat didn't deserve to die. As Joe said at the time, "Since when was love ever practical?"
At the time, we were still in our apartment, with four cats already in residence, so we tried to find Ariel a new home. But she had apparently had enough of being shuffled around -- after a five-day hunger strike, her new owner reluctantly returned her to us. Since we had moved into a new house with more space, she was back for good! |
| The pictures do not deceive -- Ariel is solid black, with no white spots. For the first six
months we had her, she suffered terribly from hairballs. (And so did we, who had to clean
them off the carpet!) We think we have finally gotten this problem under control -- first, by taking her to the groomer and having her fur cut short, then convincing her that Petromalt really was tasty stuff!
Ariel is by several years the oldest cat in the household. She is also the least active, preferring to spend the vast majority of her time relaxing or snoozing on our bed. She is the least confrontational of the cats, and generally finds a way to be somewhere else in the event someone else starts some trouble. She enjoys attention, but unlike the other cats, particularly the Bobtails, she is very low key about requesting it. Generally, when we're sitting in bed in the evenings, Ariel knows it's her time, and comes up to sit between us, patting us very lightly with one paw as if to say, "Hello? Excuse me ... " |
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She has also acted as surrogate mom to several generations of Japanese Bobtail kittens. This picture shows her with a young Okamisan. |
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