Fairytale Kitten

You know the beginning to Disney's Beauty and the Beast? An old woman comes to the castle to beg for shelter, but the Prince, appalled by her horrible appearance, sends her away. She then reveals herself to be a beautiful enchantress in disguise.

Well, Lizard is that Prince (he's Chinese, so the accepted term is "Little Emperor"). I fell in love with Susu (real name Copernicus) the moment I saw him, but to Lizard, he was too dark.

At the shelter, he was called "crazy water bowl kitty". He was so upset after all his litter-mates got adopted, and he was lonely. Plus, this kitty does NOT like to be in a cage. He would climb his cage, tip over the water bowl, desperately trying to get out.

At first, we thought Susu was a black cat. And Lizard hates black cats because he thinks they're ugly. But I fell in love with Susu. Plus, no one else was going to adopt him because everyone thought he was crazy.

I got my Susu. And there were fights about it. But, like all the other times, it turns out I was right about the cat.

The shelter labeled him as a domestic medium hair. However, as Susu has grown, what once appeared to be petite-ness due to his unfortunate circumstances has revealed itself to be a mislabeling of breed. Susu is definitely of Siamese origin, and most likely an Oriental Longhair. He has that graceful, elegant, Siamese look, but his coat is not your average Siamese.

We though Susu was black, but he's actually a smoke colored cat, meaning his fur is black at the tips, and white at the base. As he's grown, he's lightened, and is turning more of a chocolate brown. But the best part is that he's also got stripes and spots, and as he lightens you can see them more and more.

He's a smart cat, and he already plays fetch better than my dog (which, despite the fact that she is a retriever, is not saying anything). It also means that he figures out a way to get into everything! However, a couple squirts stop him pretty nicely.

It just goes to show, just because a kitten is pretty when he's born, doesn't mean he'll be pretty when he grows up! I guess it pays to look inward, and take a chance on something...even if that something is a crazy water-bowl kitty.

I'm happy to be able to care for this little kitty. He is truly a remarkable little being.