More About Raisen

Millions of users on the Internet and all I get are HITS TO THIS PAGE SINCE APRIL 21, 2000. TIME IS NOW: Eastern Time. Do you know where your kittens are? Internet services provided for free by Alachua County FreeNet. More About `Raisen'		General Description Officially, I guess she would be categorized as a Non-pedigree Blue-Cream Shorthair. But she is also known as a "Hemingway" cat, or a "polydactyl"; i.e., she has six toes and pads on both of her front feet. (Her sister, Bran, has the same on three feet - two front, and one rear.) That's `Blue-Cream' and `Non-Pedigree.' Many a visitor and vet hath always mistakenly classified my kitty as `Tortoiseshell' (a.k.a. a `Tortie'), which is an American Shorthair, and even a `Tortie-Smoke' (another American Shorthair); but I've yet to see an example photo in any cat book of a Tortie or Tortie-Smoke which matches my kitty's markings and features. The photos of the `Non-Pedigree Blue-Cream' in David Alderton's book, CATS, Eyewitness Handbooks, do match my cat most perfectly and exactly, however. While I will concede that Raisen's markings have somewhat of a tortoiseshell-like type of pattern or appearance, I won't concede to a tortoiseshell breed just yet. There are distinct patches of blue and cream hairs in my kitty. Nose is pink and black. Raisen also has an unusual dark stripe barely visible along her back spine. Raisen's coloring is beautiful. As well, if you placed her in the brush, she'd almost completely disappear before you're very eyes. Her coloring affords her the most remarkable natural camouflage that I have ever seen in an animal that doesn't already have the ability to change its color at will. I've stepped into my wooded back yard before calling and calling this cat, only to realize in astonishment that she's been standing right next to my feet all the time, staring up at me in the brown leaves and pine needles, wondering what the heck all my silly fuss was about. (There is one photo hidden amongst these pages which demonstrates this especially well. Look for it as you read on. See if you can find her.) If its that difficult for me to see her sometimes, I wonder how difficult a time other animals must have spotting her with thier limited, lesser vision capabilities. With thier strong forelegs and powerful jaws, combined with the camouflage, I can see that this breed of cats must be good hunters. (...Normally, anyway. However, in Raisen's case, she never really learned the kill. She's great at toying with her prey, but never really does get around to making a meal out of anything very much larger than bugs.) Obviously, my reason for denying admission of an American Shorthair type of classification is because - if she's a Non-pedigree, then that puts her in a rarer class, even if not very distinctive. There aren't very many types of cats in that class, making her type more rare. And to me, that just makes Raisen all the more very special. ...And that she definitely is. There's no other kitty like my kitty, Raisen. [Next Page - `A Science-Minded Puss']
More About `Raisen' c/o Todd L. Sherman/KB4MHH Gainesville, Alachua Co., Fla. E-mail: afn09444@afn.org Last updated: April 21, 2000. © Copyright 1995-2000 by Todd L. Sherman. All Rights Reserved.

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