by Toni Eames
Thirteen years ago, after the last of my beloved elderly cats passed away, I told friends I would not consider adopting a kitten. I wanted an older cat with an established personality. But we don’t always get what we want!
So, not long after, I could not resist the charms of a three-month-old, totally blind kitten I named Meadow. Then, a scant two weeks after this loving girl entered my family, I fostered a four-month-old kitten whose family’s home had been badly damaged in a fire. To my surprise, we quickly bonded, and I was beyond thrilled when they did not want him back!
I changed his name from Meow to Yancha – Japanese for playful boy.
Unlike calm Meadow, Yancha was, and still is, the stereotypical curious cat, getting into drawers, cabinets and closets. When I moved into a new house, an orange and white Yancha popped out of every box I emptied!
He and Meadow had already become great friends, wrestling and grooming one another. Now in their new surroundings, Yancha mentored Meadow, giving her the confidence to explore the new house and to climb the cat trees.
Not always fond of his role as cat, Yancha tried to be one of the dogs. He currently lives with Golden Retriever guide dog Bennett. When I pick up the harness and call my boy to come for a walk, Yancha is often the first animal to thrust his head into the strap! If I call Bennett to the back door to go out for a relief break, Yancha unfurls his wings and flies through the air to be first in line. I train my cats to be indoor only, but since Yancha is part dog, he thinks he should go out.
But for me the most endearing aspect of this paper shredding, knickknack dropping, food stealing, and wire-chewing active feline/mentor/canine-angel, is his nightly transformation. My bedtime ritual is to herd Bennett and Yancha into my bedroom. My lovely Golden boy takes his place with his head on the pillow, and Yancha is a full-fledged bedmate! He immediately settles under the blanket with me with our heads meeting on the pillow after patting my face with his soft paw and offering a few licks. He turns and presses his back against my chest, and when I turn over, he readjusts his position. We stay together all night until he hears my housemate get up to feed the other animals. Then Yancha’s passion for cuddling with me reverts to that of a cat, and he’s gone in a flash!
Speaking of food, this cat/dog/bird loves human food. He often sits on the kitchen table and tries to steal food from my plate. The craziest culinary theft was a piece of celery topped with peanut butter!
I may have gotten more than I bargained for, but I adore my four part boy!
About the Author
I am 81 years old. I grew up in the Bronx, then moved to queens when I was employed as a rehab counselor at Kings Park Psychiatric Center. I grew up as a child with low vision and was totally blind by the time I graduated from Adelphi U. My life took a turn for independence when I trained with my first guide dog in 1967. Bennett is my current guide dog.
I grew up with a pet dog but adopted my first kitten when I moved into my own apartment. Over the years, I have always had two feline family members including Disney, Tevye, Trinket, Knicknack, Bonzie, Bambi, Kimmel, Cameo, Nifty, Cali, Kizzy, Meadow, and Yancha. When I met my husband, Ed, I made sure he was comfortable with cats before I agreed to date him. Of course, with these many cats over 60 years, I dealt with illnesses, old age, and euthanasia heartaches. My guide dogs are Golden Retrievers, gentle and loving, and I never had a problem with them getting accustomed to my cats.
Wonderful!
Yancha sounds like our cat Rainy! She came to us as a foster kitten and fit so well into our family that we kept her. Rainy is nine now and naps more than she used to, but she still gets into mischief and sleeps with me most every night. She’s my only cat to date to like peanut butter. Her and our dog whom we lost to cancer used to share it from a spoon. Like you and Yancha, she was more than I expected but I absolutely adore her!