Minkie: The Ragdoll Who Became Our Family's Comfort and Healing Companion

Minkster-the-Jinxster—Our First Floppy!

If my understanding husband Jess hadn’t so kindly said “yes,” I wouldn’t be writing about Minkie! I was grieving over the death of our last Lhasa Apso dog–from our “little” pack of five, all of whom had died at ripe old ages before him. One day a picture of a Ragdoll cat popped up on my computer screen (must have been divine intervention) and peaked my curiosity. So…reading about these wonderful creatures and missing my dogs, I turned to my husband and pleaded that we get a cat for thefirst time in our lives. We had always said we weren’t “cat people.” He hesitatingly said, “yes,” and that was all I needed to hear!

We found what appeared to be a reputable breeder who was also a veterinarian. We visited and picked out an adorable kitten, but he wouldn’t be ready for adoption for several more weeks. As we were leaving, the vet mentioned that the kitty would come de-clawed. Something bothered me about that so I started reading about de-clawing. I discovered that it was removing down to what would be equivalent to a human’s first knuckle and that there were all kinds of problems which could occur with de-clawing. I cringed; call the vet; told the vet to keep our deposit; we wouldn’t be buying the kitty.

Then we found Minkie’s breeder. It was a long drive—five hours one-way. She didn’t have any new kittens; but one week later she emailed that, although she had kept a three-month-old from an earlier litter for herself, she decided she would sell him to us if we wanted him. One week later we were driving home with Minkie in his cat carrier. He cried for the first hour, settling down for the remaining four-hour drive home.

We soon discovered that the first three months with Minkie would not be the bliss we had imagined (see my previous submission on Projectile Diarrhea). After we got Minkie straightened out health-wise, he became more to us than we had ever imagined. We followed the rules about gradually and from-a-distance introducing Minkie to our two new Lhasa Apso pups. It worked! Now, they cohabitate, playing and napping together. However, Minkie will puff up his body and tail, stalk the Lhasa pups like prey, and give them a claw when they have stepped out-of-bounds. Our frisky Lhasas have a healthy respect for Minkie. We dearly love and cherish all three!

Every night when we settle down to watch television in our garden room (Minkie’s favorite room as it is all windows), Minkie jumps up on his favorite blanket and sleeps between my husband’s legs. Then, when we go to bed, we give him his treats (which we think helps him sleep through the night without stalking the house and keeping us awake). He then settles on my side of the bed; and yes, you guessed it! He sleeps between MY legs…well, to be honest, he pushes his butt as close to my crotch as he can get it—he actually backs in!

Minkie’s favorite activity is to ride in his cat buggy. I bought it on-line; and it is like a baby buggy but with a zipper. When I take the dogs out, I ask him if he “needs out,” and he jumps into the buggy and lets me zip him in. (If I don’t invite him out when I take the dogs, he will be waiting in the buggy with an insulted look on his face). The buggy has plenty of screened windows so he can look out in all directions. I push him around our gardens and he watches the bees on the flowers, smells the flowers through the screening, studies the birds, and watches the Koi and frogs in our garden pond! If he gets bored in a particular spot, he gives me a loud MEOW, meaning that he wants me to push him to another part of the garden. However, be warned! On two separate occasions, I walked away from the buggy to tend to the dogs. Minkie figured out how to un-zip the buggy! Once out of the buggy, he bolted to the back door of our house and was leaping in the air against the door to get into the safety of HIS house.

We no longer need an alarm clock. Every morning Minkie jumps on my husband while he is sleeping to awaken him. Then, he sits on me staring into my face; as soon as he sees that I’m awake, he turns his butt toward me and sits on my chest—that is his cue that he wants me to gently pat his butt just above his tail. He LOVES this patting! After breakfast, which varies in content from day-to-day–dry food, mashed egg yolk in water, organic boiled chicken or beef, quality canned food and freeze-dried duck hearts, he starts MEOW, MEOW. The volume increases if I do not respond. You see, he wants me to join him in the garden room to play with his toys. If I’m busy at the kitchen table and his meowing has not gained my attention, he stands up on his hind legs and gently slaps me with his paw!

Minkie is very social! When the doorbell rings, he runs and hides. Within a few minutes, though, he is peering into the room and eventually approaches the visitor. When the massage therapist comes, Minkie finds a comfy spot on the massage table and acts as if the massage is for him, grooming himself and purring away until he falls asleep!

One day not long ago, my dear husband asked, “Would the cat have been enough to fill the hole in your heart when we lost our first Lhasa Apsos to old age?” I realized he was asking if we over-did things (we are retirees) by also getting two new Lhasa Apso pups in addition to the cat. I had to respond, “I love and cherish these Lhasa Apso pups and will never part with them; but yes, Minkie would have been enough to fill the hole in my heart.” I never thought I’d feel that way about a cat! In fact, I tell people that a regret I have at age 65 is that I didn’t discover cats sooner in my life—Ragdoll cats, that is!!

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