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After all the commotion of the show in Nijmegen in September 2009 (see previous Cat Track) I was floating a bit through life. Quite suddenly I came back with both feet on earth again, because of a startling response. Someone who had bought a kitten from me earlier that year, indicated significant difficulties with the now 9 months old male. What those problems were, never became clear to me. What was clear, was that I could go and collect him as soon as possible, because they wanted to get rid of him immediately. A good friend offered to come along with me. Very nice, because such a journey doesn't leave you without emotions. Once at the destination the male came to greet us. I couldn't find anything wrong with him, but hey, you don't have to see something at first glance. Then again I tried to get answers and clarifications, but again one remained vague. He supposedly suffered from behavioral problems and couldn't be handled. There was nothing else to do than to collect all the paperwork, to pack up the male and start the journey home.
 Back home I had a bit of a problem. Where could I put this fellow? Dropping him between the others didn't seem like a good idea to me. Beside all the adult cats, there were five kittens and their very protective mother in the house. I had a bench ready just in case, but I don't really like cages. So I put him upstairs in the bedroom. The corridor would then serve as "lock" and the rest of the gang would have to stay downstairs. Not an ideal solution, but workable one. Although all the present cats thought differently. So Bryn has lived upstairs for some time. The first night going to sleep was a bit tense with a strange male of over 5 kilo's sauntering around me. He wanted to lie down close to me, but when I moved there was tense and uncertain yammering. Within a few hours we had worked it out, then slept together wonderfully. He didn't like that he was alone most of the time. Once I came upstairs, he walked up to me purring and then plaintively told me that he was lonely. He didn't want to play. Not alone and not with me. But he wanted a lot of attention. The move marked a significant transition and he was clearly still getting used to things. Downstairs the entire gang was always curious at the door, because they wanted to know who had moved in upstairs. After two days I decided to be bold and let Mirre walk upstairs with me. She is the most dominant cat in the house and his mother. So this could go very well or it could go very wrong. First I opened the door a little bit. When there was no response from either side, I opened the door completely. Mirre walked into the room and sniffed her son passing by. After a “oh, you here?” she completely ignored him. While the two of them walked around, I could get over my surprise. Then I wanted to bring up my easiest male, but Phèdre (Bryn's half sister) beat him to it. Under the guise of "it will have to happen at some time", I let her walk into the bedroom. It was as if she didn't even see him. I left them together for an hour as I watched them and then separated them again. Phèdre and Mirre went back down, Bryn remained upstairs. The next day Mirre was the first one to meet Bryn again and things went just as well as the previous evening. Then Djavi was allowed to come upstairs. He was pretty curious, sniffed at Bryn and went to investigate. One by one, the whole cat gang came up to renew their acquaintance. It was as if Bryn had never been away. He smelled known and familiar to each cat. Time for the final and most important step: to meet the kittens. This time there came a response. Bryn was scared of the kittens and he hissed and growled at them. Obviously Phèdre didn't accept that. How did he get it into his head to threaten and insult her children. He got hit, she bit him in his ass and chased him. Bryn reacted very timid to that. Of course he ran away from her violence, but if he got cornered, he'd lay flat waiting for it to be over. Fortunately none of the other cats interfered in this, because the stress between these two was enough for all of us.  Within a few days Bryn had gotten used to the kittens enough. He had become just as curious about them as they were about him. Soon they played and slept together. Until Phèdre became nervous again and would rush off to Bryn. Then Bryn would move back upstairs again and everyone could relax. Every day the cats were together for a couple of hours. After one week Bryn was in the group all day and it was no longer necessary for him to be separated. All this time I have been watching him closely. I tried to guess how he would react to situations. I observed his behavior. Just to try to discover what could have gone wrong. All I saw was a young cat of considerable size and weight and with a lovely temperament. Of course he was young and because of his size and spacious 5 kilo's he seemed pretty rude. But that was just a phase. What I did notice was that he was barely raised. He was really genuinely surprised that things were not allowed and he wouldn't listening at all. I decided that he had to stay with us for a while to try to change that. Together with the other cats or actually mainly by the other cats, Bryn was finally raised. So he changed from an unguided missile in a crazy, lovely guy. He can get along with everyone. He has quickly learned to respect the older cats. He learned that there were limits. His mother (about half his size) made him lay on the ground with one single bite into his neck. Yottum and Robbyn kept him at a distance with their front legs. Phèdre still regularly chased him, but gradually it became less severe. He also discovered that Zohra doesn't like to play rough, but is ready for comfort and a wash. Playing and acting crazy, he did with the kittens, but they moved one by one. Until only Charo was left, but together they could still indulge deliciously. Because Bryn learned so much from the other cats, I didn't want to rehome him immediately. He wasn't in the way and besides the occasional chasing from Phèdre, everything happened in peace. I just thought he was deaf or hearing impaired, because he never responded to my voice. After some test situations I discovered that he only played deaf. On "shame" and "no" and so on, he hardly reacted at first, but if I walked up to him, he ran off. On "well done" and “good boy” he didn't respond at all. That took several months.  The show in Utrecht came closer and I was overdubbing who I would be taking. Of course, Charo would go, but her mother was too nervous on shows, so she would stay home. Grandma Mirre still had a foreign point to gain for her next title, and I thought it was the same for granduncle Djavi. So I decided to take Bryn for fun. After some study it showed Djavi still need to have a point, so he would come too. And so with these three we went early in the morning on slippery roads to Utrecht. After all inspections and once inside, Charo and Bryn crept along in a basket. At the end of the morning the trio rapidly took turns going to the judge. Luckily there were enough helping hands and the judge didn't need extra time waiting for us. Djavi, as old hand at the box, went willingly to the judges table. Charo and Bryn were more impressed by all the people and sounds. They behaved very well on the table and I was proud of them. 
After a while I got the request to bring Charo to the podium. She appeared to have become Best Burmese Kitten. A great achievement for my girl. Later that afternoon we were wondering who then became Best Adult Burmese. After some questions it appeared that that news hadn't reached the podium yet. When the communication lines were restored, it turned out to my amazement that Bryn was the winner of that prize. Overwhelmed by the situation I went to the podium with him. He behaved exemplary, but he didn't want to look into the camera. Well, if that was all.... Again some time later, both Charo and Bryn were called back to the judges room for the BIS-election. Together with a friend and the two cats we rushed into this adventure. Bryn won with 4 out of 5 votes, Charo with 3 out of 5. I was in the seventh heaven. What an achievement! Back on the podium (this time with both cats together) they both got their trophy, certificate and a bag of food. Taking the photo proved difficult, because Bryn still didn't really want to look into the camera. But we managed. Because of the special performance and because we had a first in the Burmese stand that day, we repeated the same photo with an addition. There now exists “Burrenbier” (Burmese beer). On the label Bryn is depicted as the star he has now become. On the show Bryn was brought before the judges by myself, but also by two of my friends, and all the time he behaved exemplary. At home he has become a very sweet guy. He is curious, playful and easily handled. In short a true Burmese. He has learned much in recent months, but he isn't quite there yet. Whatever has happened, it has damaged him. Of his incredible self-confidence was little left, though fortunately it is coming back little by little. Time being, he will remain with us. If he is ever ready for a new life and golden basket, I have many requirements for his new owners. This guy deserves the very best and even then I don't know whether that is good enough for him. |
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