PK: It's been a while since I've done a Cat Sanctuary Interview. Serena, do we owe the readers an endorsement?
You're about three times the size you were in that kitten picture, after all these years, but even in the kitten picture you showed a cobby British-type body shape and a queenly attitude.
Serena: Well, of course. Look at all these sticks sprawling about in the not-a-lawn, taking up good napping space. Which stick shall we play with first?
PK: Jewelweed stalks just melt away, while goldenrod stalks try to pretend they are wood.
Serena: They'll do!
PK: You seem to be back to your energetic self, although this has been a trying summer for you.
Serena: First the three spring kittens, who might have lived, died when the evil wind of glyphosate vapors blew our way. Then the summer kittens...you tried to save one of them, but I knew it was no use. He was part Manx, like me and the kitten who never really lived to be my brother. You and my mother tried, but that kitten's heart never started beating in rhythm. It beat a few times and stopped.
PK: Your summer kitten's heart would start beating properly, and it squirmed about, expelled its meconium as babies do when they start to live, even tried to nurse...but then its heart would either speed up or slow down. And then it just stopped.
Serena: I never really had a brother and yet, when Traveller came to stay with us, I knew he was the same age and color and the same sort of kitten my brother would have been. I loved him on sight. I wish he'd lived longer!
PK: He did all the purring and cuddling for you. He even cuddled your first kittens with you. I don't usually like tomcats, but anybody would have had to love Traveller.
Serena: The father of the kittens I've tried to keep is small, too, and black-and-white. And he has a long tail, like my mother and like Traveller. My tail's not very long, but it's long enough. I have learned that nothing good comes from having kittens with a stump-tailed tomcat. My daughters are very foolish to have anything to do with that little character Crayola ran off with...that Trumpkin.
PK: I call him that because he is orange, loud, annoying, and no matter how often he's told to go away, he keeps coming back. It seems to work for a man whose name is Trump. Maybe it will work for that tomkitten. I don't exactly like him, but someone obviously does...enough that he's not given your daughters any poor doomed Manx kittens. I do like that about him, at least.
Serena: There is that. I can't stand him myself. He looks like bad luck. Well he is bad luck--he's annoyed me to the point that I used physical punishment on my daughters! I never thought I'd stoop so low! I've always set a good example, keeping my tomcats away from the house, and that Trumpkin has the gall to bounce right up onto my porch.
PK: Yes, and the katzenjammer about that last night cost me what time I'd planned to sleep...
Serena: I'm sorry about that, but you wouldn't like to have his odor on the porch, either. Ha! I killed that stick!
PK: You think!
Serena: I'll show it who's boss! I'll drop out of the air onto it like a hawk!
PK: Do we have a hawk in the neighborhood?
Serena: Only passing through. It stole a mouse I was chasing. Do you like hawks?
PK: As long as they're not showing an unhealthy interest in chickens, I do. They are beautiful birds. One of our e-friends keeps them as pets.
Serena: Would you want a hawk for a pet?
PK: You're quite enough for me, Serena.
Serena: Good answer. Now I've killed that stick.
PK: So you have. Shall we try another one?
Serena: Not just now. Let's have some water.
PK: It's not a hot day. It's not even been dry lately. Why would you want to share a bottle of Pure Life water today?
Serena: Because you pour out some for me, and some for my daughters, and then finish the bottle yourself. That's the universal way all animals say that we want to be friends. And also, it's rained only enough to wash the poisonous vapors down, not enough to get rid of them. Rainwater is still nasty.
PK: Birds are nasty, too. Aren't they? A bird that you can catch is the nastiest thing there is!
Serena: I know, but it's so much fun to catch them, because one almost never can...
PK: Did the one that made you so sick last week have green mold on it, or only glyphosate poisoning?
Serena: Both, and maybe other kinds of poisoning, and it had lice too..
PK: Well I'm glad to see you got rid of it. I was worried about you.
Serena: Yes, I felt sick and tired for a few days. I could see you thinking "getting old"! What rot! I'm as young as ever.
PK: You're five and a half years old. At that age some cats are slowing down and spending a lot of time taking naps.
Serena: Well I do like to nap in the sun, now there's only a few hours of it, and in summer I liked to nap in the shade, but there is more to life than naps. By the way, thank you for not forcing me to swallow medicine before I was ready. You know how when you're sick the last thing you want is to swallow anything?
PK: Yes, and thank you for not trying to bite or scratch me...
Serena: I like that! I was sick, not delirious. I have never intentionally hurt a human. Would, if I were driven to it, but I never have.
PK: Well, as I go back to the computer to write a Petfinder post, what kind of cats should we encourage people to adopt this week?
Serena: I don't suppose there's any chance of getting anyone to adopt Trumpkin?
PK: I'm afraid not. When people invest the money to have a tomkitten neutered, they usually think he's worth keeping.
Serena: I can't imagine why!
PK: I don't know. Humans can be silly. Maybe they like Donald Trump. Or maybe they liked your great-uncle Elmo; Trumpkin looks very similar to Elmo, though Elmo had much nicer manners and though Trumpkin's already bigger than Elmo ever was.. Or maybe Trumpkin was the last kitten left, and someone thought he needed a home.
Serena: I wish he'd stay in it then.
PK: Well, you ought to know...even when cats do show a preference for one mate over others, it's almost never strong enough to stop them being interested in the others too. What Silver and Sommersburr had, or what your parents had, or have, is unusual.. But maybe it is time we looked at orange cats. They don't always bring bad luck. They're not always even male.
Here are some of North America's best photos of adorable, adoptable orange cats.
Zipcode 10101: Boots from Brooklyn
Described as friendly, playful, and cuddly, this polydactyl kitten will need another kitten to play with. If by any chance you have a lonely only kitten, adopting Boots may save your sanity.
Zipcode 20202: Jack (and Benny) from DC
Jack already has someone to play with: his brother Benny. Both are part Siamese. Benny is the one who makes it obvious. Jack may be a little slimmer, a little more clever, a little more talkative, than the average American cat, or not. He may squeak "Me?" instead of saying "Meow."
Zipcode 30303: Nemo (and Carmichael) from Avondale Estates
Nemo is the one with the gorgeous blotched-tabby coat. According to his web page, he's shy and tends to rely on Carmichael to explore new situations first and make sure they''re safe.
What a charming post! Serena is a darling cat and I loved hearing her story. And well done, you, with trying to save the kittens. That's love. Happy Thanksgiving, Priscilla, and thanks for your visits to Marmelade Gypsy!
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