We are Siamese if you please....

Ah....cats.... as one of our last Shanghai favors for our good friends Bob and Elizabeth Faber we are cat sitting for a few days while they pack up and move to the temporary residence of the Shangri-la hotel in prep for their move to Singapore later this week. So while they are enjoying their suite sans feline, we are enjoying the company of their two Siamese cats - Barton and Brazos.

My personal experience with cats is limited to one traumatic experience - and I mean traumatic for the cat. One day my mom, sister and I were driving home from I don't know where and she told us she had a surprise for us at home. Already having 2 dogs in the house, we were pleasantly surprised to find a small grey kitten waiting for us with a creamy patch over her forehead. Instead of the obvious "patches" name for the kitty, we settled on the name "Dusty" instead.

Dusty endured for I don't know how many years of torture from my sister and I since she seemed a much better fit for all of our old baby and new doll clothes than our larger dogs. Our favorite being any outfit that also included a bonnet that matched. We thought she enjoyed this play until one day she just disappeared and the mystery of what happened to Dusty was born. Since we lived at the State Park in Grand Haven, did she run off with one of the many camping families during that fateful summer? In later years when we moved out of our house we joked that maybe we would find what was left of Dusty hidden away in one of our basement closets she used to frequent in order to hide from Kelly and I. Were our parents hiding the truth? Do they know what really happened to Dusty? I can't say it has scarred me much in later life, but it still makes me feel a little guilty that we didn't treat her better. And just for the record - Mom - even if you do know - I *DON'T* want to know what happened to Dusty.

For the record, I have had no temptation to put Barton and Brazos through a kitty fashion show by getting them to try on a few of Finn's onesies - instead I have actually enjoyed their company and mischievous ways. That and since I'm carrying little Finn - I just get to handle food duty - litter box duty has gone fairly and squarely to Will. Wow - a pregnancy perk!