Meet Coco – our gorgeous Snowshoe Siamese cat.
As I write this, Coco is silent. An unusual state for the master of our universe, quiet means he’s up to something no good.
Like hiding under the Christmas tree, knocking off the balls and decorations either on purpose, by swatting them with his paw, or by accident, scraping them with his back as he settles under the tree. Then watching, gleefully, as they roll around and clatter, shatter and break, not understanding that he probably just broke one of my very favorite treasures.
Or, jumping on the table just as I’ve sorted stacks of papers for filing – scattering stuff everywhere as he settles in luxuriously, tucking under one paw and swishing his tail!
Or, jumping on the table to smell the flowers I just picked from the garden, then grabbing one with his teeth and dismantling my newly arranged bouquet.
Or, jumping on the table, again, after I’ve decorated it for a Halloween brunch buffet (I have to admit, though, that he’s the perfect addition to Halloween decor).
Or moving placemats aside so that he can lounge in the sun (good thing there were no plates or glasses on that placemat!).
And, then he looks at me with those gorgeous blue eyes and I can’t be angry!
Could you? Be angry? Here I had just put a blue plastic table cloth on our kitchen table to protect it for a craft project I was going to work on. He decided he would help. At least he decided to settle down on the fringes of the table!
Here he’s helping me set the table for Valentine’s Day.
And here he’s helping me put away (clean) kitchen towels.
In case you haven’t yet guessed by the photos above, Coco is our cat. He’s a beautiful Snowshoe Siamese cat, and a boy; a boy named Coco. As of the writing of this post, it’s his 10th birthday. It’s hard to believe that we’ve had this gorgeous creature in our lives for 10 years now.
Arguably the most beautiful pet I’ve ever had, he’s a bit camera shy. Actually he hates having his picture taken and gets his nose out of joint when I stick my camera lens in his face.
But sometimes I get lucky and catch him unawares.
So, when that happens, I take multiples as fast as I can because cats are like children – they don’t sit still for the photo shoot!
This may look like the same photo as the one three photos up, but it’s not. It’s slightly different and since I couldn’t decide which one was more beautiful, you get both!
This is what he looks like when he’s annoyed with me.
or this…
or this…
or this…
or this.
I’d say he’s pretty angry with me in this one. See my reflection in the iris of his eye?
Pets Before Coco
I’ve always been a “cat person” and a “dog person” at the same time. I grew up in a household that always had a dog or two and one cat (never multiples). So, I learned to appreciate the nuances of both breeds and love them equally.
But, many moons ago I met my husband, Charlie, and he was neither; not a “dog person” and definitely not a “cat person.” He grew up in the country on a ranch and during his childhood, dogs and cats were considered part of the working animal class on the ranch and not “pets”. Dogs had various jobs, such as herding other animals and warning humans about perceived danger. And cats were feral and kept the rodent population at bay.
But, here’s the thing: I’m the kind of person that can not NOT have a pet! I’ve had either a cat or dog or bird or rabbit or several of different species in my life at the same time – always! And, at the time I met Charlie, I had a cat. He was a beautiful marmalade orange tabby named Rusty.
Rusty
This is me and Rusty, circa 1987. Sorry my eyes make me look like I’ve just woken up! Intent on my knitting project, I must have been caught off guard by the person who took this picture! Anyway, you can see that my Rusty was a perfectly devoted lap kitty. If I was sitting down, he was in my lap!
And, as Charlie’s and my relationship grew, I flat out told him, “love me, love my cat.” And, Charlie decided he would get on board.
Love me, love my cat! A boy named Coco! #cat #Snowshoe Click To Tweet
So, Charlie adapted to Rusty because he had no choice. Rusty was a wonderful cat, who loved everyone. And, he particularly loved Charlie. He would climb on Charlie’s chest, wrap a paw on either side of his neck and rub the top of his head under Charlie’s chin. Back-and-forth. Back-and-forth. Scratching the top of his head against Charlie’s whiskers. And, purring all the while. How can you not love a cat that loves you that way?
Tin Man
Charlie and I both worked outside the home, so Rusty was alone. A lot. So, I convinced Charlie that Rusty needed a companion. So, we adopted another cat – this time a kitten. He was a gray, short hair and we named him Tin Man (a long story for another day, but the short version is that we lived on the property formerly owned by Jack Haley, the Tin Man in the original Wizard of Oz movie).
Me holding Tin Man and Tiffany in the background, circa 1988.
Tin Man and Rusty
Tin Man was just barely 8 weeks old and not properly weaned from his mother. So, he attempted to nurse on Rusty. After a few tries, Rusty just gave up trying to stop him and Tin Man nursed happily on Rusty until he weaned himself. By the way – Rusty loved Tin Man immediately and accepted this new kitten in his life unconditionally.
Then, Charlie and I got married and went on our honeymoon. We had a housesitter stay at our house to take care of Rusty and Tin Man and water the plants. When we returned home from our honeymoon, Rusty was gone. A few days after we left on our honeymoon, he escaped through an open door and the housesitter couldn’t find him. Anywhere. After looking over-and-over again, calling for him, and enlisting help from others. No one wanted to tell us on our honeymoon, so we didn’t find out until we arrived home and he wasn’t in the house.
We immediately went outside looking for him, calling and calling him. Then my mother called me on the phone and gave me the bad news – that Rusty had been missing for more than 10 days. When I went outside to tell Charlie to quit looking for Rusty, the wail that emitted from Charlie was spine-chilling and heartbreaking. He collapsed against our car, destroyed.
Heartbroken beyond measure, since we live in the country we assume Rusty was coyote bait.
Haley
So, Tin Man was our only pet for awhile and then I went to the local animal shelter (without Charlie; now a definite “no no”) and adopted an adult dog, a female Dalmatian / Australian Shepherd mix as a surprise for Charlie’s birthday. We named her Haley (after Jack Haley, of course; sorry, but I don’t have a photo of Haley. We lost most of our photos in our house fire in 2007, so these old photos of our pets I’ve gotten from family.).
Dorothy
Then I decided we needed a cat for Tin Man because Tin Man was home alone all day. So we adopted Dorothy, a calico with the softest fur ever, from a neighboring ranch.
Dorothy
Dorothy and Tin Man
Rusty 2.0
A while later, Rusty 2.0 (Charlie called him “Russell”), another male orange tabby, just showed up on our doorstep. Was he a reincarnation of the original Rusty? Although a young cat, he was full-grown. A loving cat, we adopted him immediately.
A page from an old scrapbook – Nicole and Kyle playing with Rusty 2.0.
Charlie trying to hold Rusty 2.0, circa 1993.
Another photo of Rusty 2.0 so that you can see his beautiful face!
Jack
Then I decided that Haley needed a doggie friend; after all, all the cats had each other. So we adopted a beautiful black Chow / Australian Shepherd mix puppy that I named Jack (again, a trip without Charlie).
Me and Jack, circa 2001.
I got Jack from the grocery store. A little black ball of fur, he captured my heart immediately. He was the last in the litter that the woman was giving away. I had to go grocery shopping so asked her if she would wait while I went inside for a quick trip. She agreed and I ran through the grocery store in record time, got Jack, took him next door to the drug store to buy a collar and leash and home we went. It was impulse, but one of the best impulses I’ve ever had. He was such a wonderful, fun and funny dog. One of his greatest joys was running up-and-down the rows of our corn fields and then jumping out somewhere in the middle as if to say “here I am!” So cute.
Harmony Interrupted
All five of them lived in relative harmony. By “relative harmony” I mean the cats were indoor cats and the dogs were outdoor dogs and everyone was happy.
But, here’s the sad thing about adopting multiple pets in the early stages of marriage: they all age together. Over a 5-year period, we lost all of these beautiful, sweet, loving, wonderful creatures to cancer, except Rusty 2.0, who we lost in an accident. Each one of the other four of our beloved pets died of a different type of cancer and the last to go was Jack, our youngest, who died of brain cancer when he was only 12. Tin Man lived the longest, passing away at 17.
Coco Comes Home
Not wanting a life without pets, Charlie and I went to our local animal shelter with the intention of adopting 2 cats. We came home with only one, a teeny, tiny Snowshoe Siamese kitten. You can read all about that adventure in the post titled A Boy Named Coco.
Coco, our darling Snowshoe Siamese kitten, the day we brought him home from the shelter at 8 weeks old.
Here’s an old, blurry photo of Coco at about 4 months old, looking out our living room screen door in our old house. Notice his fur has darkened considerably as he has aged.
Coco is very different than any cat I’ve ever owned. For one thing, he is the most beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. I think he knows it, too.
Also, surprisingly, he’s not that soft. His fur has an almost coarse but puffy texture, except when you rub him on his sides and belly in a circular fashion. Then you can feel the bunny-softness of his under-fur.
He’s a bit anti-social. Most of the time when people come over, he hides out. Especially when children visit – he’s a goner. Above he thinks he’s hiding behind a shower curtain, in our condo, and that no one can see him. Even if the shower curtain wasn’t see-through, his white Snowshoe paws are a dead give-away!
And, when we have guests and he does make an appearance, it’s rare that he wander anywhere near our guests, but will eye them from a safe distance.
Most of the time his purr is inaudible. So whispery-soft that your ear has to be on his chest to hear it. But, sometimes, you’ll hear this rumble like a freight train and are surprised the noise is coming from Coco.
He loves sitting in his cat perch by the window and watching the birds.
and watching…
and watching…
looking up…
and looking down. Birds in the air; birds on the ground.
Watching birds is exhausting. Time for a nap beside his cat tree instead of in it.
He has some quirks, too. Not all of them good.
Coco’s Quirks
He’s not a “lap” kitty
Coco doesn’t even know what that is. He has a detachment disorder that comes from not having a mother cat for long. Found on the streets of our town by someone when he was 2 weeks old, he was taken to the local animal shelter. So, no mommy and no way to learn to bond. When he was a kitten (we adopted him at 8 weeks), I tried everything to create a bond with him and make him into a lap kitty. It never happened. Just goes to show you how important mommies are.
Here’s me attempting to teach baby Coco that it’s okay to snuggle in my lap.
And, here’s Charlie trying to gently coax baby Coco into my lap.
This is about as close to a “lap kitty” as Coco has ever gotten – upside down squished behind Charlie’s butt in Charlie’s chair!
And, he doesn’t like to be picked up and cuddled, although he’ll tolerate it for a short time. That’s me (with gray hair, which I don’t have anymore; you know – that vanity thing), attempting to cuddle Coco when Coco was about a year old. This photo is from early 2007 and taken in our kitchen before our house burned to the ground in October 2007.
His caterwaul is catastrophic
Often when Charlie’s outside and it’s just me and Coco in the house, Coco will caterwaul at the top of his lungs like he’s hurt, heartbroken, or pining for a lover. Are Snowshoe Siamese cats known for their caterwauls? I think Coco is; at least in our neck of the woods!
How do you think that makes me feel? I thought I was Coco’s favorite. Clearly that’s not true {grin}. I’ll stick my head out my office door and yell, “Coco! I’m here! Come and see me!” I even have a chaise in my office, especially purchased just for him. Just so he’ll come back to my office and stay awhile.
Soft furry surfaces
He mainly likes to sit or sleep on super-soft surfaces. Maybe that’s a hold-over from not having a mom for very long? He missed the softness of sleeping and cuddling with a mommy cat and siblings? Just a guess…
We have these mink-like throw blankets in most of the rooms in our house. He sits and sleeps on those (this post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.).
Here he is in my office on a beige faux fur throw blanket, on the beautiful chaise purchased just for him, purring and kneading to beat the band!
And here he is on a cream colored faux fur blanket throw in our guest bedroom. The cabinet is from Restoration Hardware.
A close-up of Coco in the same room on the same blanket.
Here he is on the same blanket (from Pier One) happily sawing zzzzz’s. The duvet is from Pottery Barn as is the beautiful leaf pillow. The night stand is from Restoration Hardware.
And here’s Coco, upside down sawing zzzzz’s on a beautiful teal faux fur blanket on our ottoman (actually, it’s really his ottoman).
This pillow is the culprit for the soft blankie stage in Coco’s life. He was about 1 1/2 years old in the above photo and we had just moved into a condo 3 weeks after our house burned down. Coco was a wreck and I found this pillow at Costco. Silky soft, I thought maybe Coco would like it and he did. It became his favorite place to sleep until we moved home to our new house 13 months later.
I bought a few of these mink-like throw blankets for different parts of our house (aqua throw blanket in our master bedroom above) and he preferred those to his pillow. The chair above, which I bought at Home Goods, is flocked. The dark brown leaves are soft. I’m assuming that’s why Coco likes to sit in this chair sometimes. The plain dark brown velvet pillow behind Coco is from Home Goods, too. The cute little side table and the ottoman are from Ethan Allen. My bedroom curtains are custom, from Ethan Allen as well.
If you are looking for mink-like blankets for you house, check these out (this post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.):
Blue faux fur blanket throw || Aqua faux fur blanket throw || Teal faux fur blanket throw || Cream faux fur blanket throw || Beige faux fur blanket throw
He likes to sleep on our chairs, too. Even though he really doesn’t fit on them. At least not now because he’s a chunky monkey.
He likes sleeping in this chair because is has a super soft pillow adorning it. Got the pillow at Pier One. Got the Snowshoe Siamese cat at the animal shelter.
Coco squished in another chair also adorned with a Pier One pillow. This one has a peacock. Kinda apropos because Coco’s not really a Snowshoe Siamese cat, but a peacock in disguise.
When it was time to decorate our new house, I had a moment of anxiety. Because I’d never started out (or over) completely from scratch before. So, my choices were endless. Unlimited. Infinite. Instead of being filled with amazement that I could almost have anything I wanted by way of decorating our new home, I was filled with fear. Trepidation. Worry. What if I do it all wrong?
Then, I looked down at my gorgeous Snowshoe Siamese cat and bingo! The light came on and inspired clarity took root: decorate my house to match Coco. Chocolate, white, beige, cream and pops of blue. He’s perfect; our house would be perfect, too.
Coco on top of chocolate recliner in front of Christmas tree – exhausted after a houseful of guests.
Midnight Crazies
He likes to play with balls called “Midnight Crazies” and he loves any toy with catnip. He used to “fetch”, as in retrieve the ball and bring it back to us so that we would throw it again. Not anymore. He’s figured out that we will retrieve it and throw it for him again (he’s got us trained).
Coco playing with his favorite color – yellow – Midnight Crazies balls.
Coco guarding his favorite Midnight Crazies yellow ball on top of the hallway cabinet.
Coco stalking a green Midnight Crazies ball when we lived in the condo.
Coco playing with pink Midnight Crazies in the condo.
He likes feather toys, too. Here’s Coco with both a Midnight Crazies ball and a feather toy.
Baby Coco playing with a feather toy in our old house.
Cat and Mouser
He’s a terrible “mouser”. We’ve had mice in our house, off and on for years. That’s the price you pay for living in the country. They sneak in through our garage door, probably when we are busy unloading the car. Coco will know there’s a mouse in the house and will dutifully lie in wait.
And, when the mouse sneaks out from its hiding place, Coco will stalk and chase him. But, I always have to catch it. I’ve gotten pretty good at it and practice what I call “catch and release”. I use a large plastic cup and a spatula turner. I set the cup down on the floor, holding it with one hand and using the hand holding the spatula turner, I coax the mouse towards and into the cup. Then, I cover it with the spatula turner and I take it outside to release it back into our field.
Here’s a picture from the day I caught 5 mice in our garage; I’m a more accomplished “mouser” than Coco is!
Coco’s Diet
He’s very picky about his food and mice aren’t on his diet. He only eats certain kinds of cat foods, the ones with gravy and he doesn’t care for beef. Chicken and tuna are his favorite flavors. And, he only likes one brand of dry cat food. Want to know which ones?
Coco’s preferred canned cat food || 2nd preferred canned cat food || His preferred dry cat food
He loves kitty grass, too. We used to feed him treats, but our vet says he’s too fat (I say he’s just right). So, we’ve weaned him off the treats, but here’s a link to his favorites: Coco’s preferred treats.
Plus, you can read about the time the Amazon Elves went crazy and delivered wayyyyy too many treats here: Attack of the Amazon Elves. And, he loves bacon. Every time I make bacon, he can’t wait for his treat (we just give him a tiny little bit and not very often, either, so don’t be “hating” on me for giving my cat an occasional bacon treat!).
Coco waiting for a treat
Every time I’m in the kitchen, he comes in and begs me for food. I open the pantry or frig or open a drawer for a knife or the cabinet for a pot and BAM, he’s there. Even if he has food in his food bowls, which 99.99% of the time he does, he starts yelling at me. Notice I said “bowls”? Yes, he has 2: one in the kitchen and one in the master bathroom, so he’s never far from food. But, he just likes to annoy me and he’s such a glamour puss that he always wants my attention!
Coco, looking at his food and deciding it’s not enough.
Staring at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.
Coco screaming at me for more food (even though he has lots of food)!
Happy Coco eating more food.
Early Bird
He wakes us up every morning, so we haven’t used an alarm clock in the 10 years we’ve had him. This ritual starts any where between 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. So, we NEVER sleep in and it’s NEVER fun (I’m not a morning person) because he doesn’t wake us up in a sweet, loving, delicate way like jumping on the bed and nuzzling our faces. Nooooo. Not him. He caterwauls. At the top of his lungs. A piteous, death-defying wail.
Let me make this clear: we have tried EVERYTHING to break this annoying habit. Ignoring him. Locking him out of the bedroom. Yelling at him to “shut up!” He wins.
This is what I think of him and his caterwauling in the morning: he’s TWO Snowshoe Siamese cats (joined at the tail).
Are you wondering how I made this photo? It’s easy! I use PicMonkey for my photo editing. It’s easy and free. However, it does have some “Royale” features, which means you pay a small monthly fee or annual fee for all the different features. To create this look, upload your photo, click on “Effects”, scroll down to “Mirror” (a “Royale” effect) and click it! Done!
Maybe Coco’s really a 2-headed monster instead of a Snowshoe Siamese cat in the wee hours of the morning.
But, even as a 2-headed monster, he’s still so incredibly beautiful that it’s hard to stay mad at him. This looks more like a photo of amazingly beautiful twin Snowshoe Siamese cats instead of a 2-headed monster, don’t you think? God definitely had a plan for this homeless, motherless kitty.
Now this PicMonkey photo definitely looks like Coco is 2-headed! That monkey’s a bit mischievous – he makes it so easy to create beautiful photos and silly, fun photos in a flash! So, maybe that’s the original meaning of “monkey business”?
Sneaky Cat
Coco always tries to sneak out the backdoor. Coco is an indoor cat, although when we first got him and we deemed him old enough, he was allowed outside during the day. We trained him to come inside by 4:00 p.m. everyday by feeding him and then locking the kitty door. But, then our house burned down and we moved 3 times in 3 weeks and then settled in a condo for 13 months while we rebuilt our house. The condo was in a 9-story high rise building in downtown San Diego, so that forced Coco to become an indoor cat.
His memory knows he used to go outside and he still tries. But, our new home doesn’t have a crawl space where he could escape predators. Plus, we don’t have any climbing trees for his use because they, too, burned down in the fire. And, he used to be able to scale a patio wall in our old house and climb up on our roof and our new house doesn’t have that amenity. So, he lies in wait at the back door waiting for an opportunity.
Coco plotting an escape…
waiting for the back door to open…
waiting for the front door to open…
giving up and taking a snooze on his cat perch (doesn’t he have cute toe beans aka jelly bean toes?).
Snowshoe Siamese Cat Alarm Clock
And, every day, starting at around 5:00 p.m., if he has not spent the day with me on the chaise in my office, but has spent his day somewhere else in our house, he comes to my office door and yells at me. Then he leaves. I think he’s mimicking Charlie, who also starts yelling at me in the evening to “get off that d*mn computer!” If I don’t start shutting down right away, Coco comes back and does it again. And again. And again. I’m defenseless. So, I don’t work on my computer at night.
But, in spite of all his flaws, he has one redeeming quality that makes all his flaws insignificant: every night, he jumps on the ottoman (which, of course, has one of his mink-like blankets), stares at me with his gorgeous blue eyes and goes, “mew”. Not “meow” or one of his death-defying caterwauls, but “mew.” Just once. That’s his way of telling me it’s time for his belly rub. He goes around the blanket in a circle, two or three times, settles down into the blanket and leans his head backward to look at me again (upside down) and goes “mew” again. That’s my cue to start rubbing his side and belly in a rather firm way in a circular direction – over-and-over-and-over again. If I stop, he leans his head backward to look at me and “mews” again.
And, every single time, it melts my heart and I fall in love with this anti-social, motherless Snowshoe Siamese cat over again.
In spite of his annoying habits.
Other posts with our Snowshoe Siamese cat, Coco, from Toot Sweet 4 Two’s archives:
A Boy Name Coco || And the Winner is… || Any Way the Wind Blows || Coco, the Semi-Social Coco || Emergency Planning Checklist || Herding Cats || Making a Grocery List Clipboard with My Personal Assistant || Pet Owners: are you Ready? || Picture Perfect: The Art of Photobombing || Sweet Baby James || The God Complex || The Post Holiday Blues || The Squish Factor || Turquoise and Orange: Summer to Fall Decorating Hack || ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Version 2.0
Tootles,