La-Dee-Da Melody
1985-2000
The Princess of Oral Flatulence
Felis domesticus var. odorous
A good cat has many names: Melody, Mel, Smellody, Smell, Smeller, Melodious, Malodorous, Marsh-Mallody, MeowLoudly, Smell Odious, Mellerdeedee, Rare One.
Bag lady kitty.
Melody lived to be fifteen years old. I fell in love with Melody at a cat show. Her energy, purrsonality, circus stripes and spots captivated me! She was an Oriental Shorthair and her sister was a grand champion of some kind. Melodious Kitty was the half-sister of Phred.
Melody and her half-brother, Phred.
When buying a cattery cat, it is always a good idea to find out what kind of conditions they have been living in. An un-socialized cat will make a good pet eventually, but a well-socialized cat adapts much more quickly. Most cattery cats are raised in cages; to buy them and take them home is to liberate them from a life where they never get to walk on the floor. I chatted with the seller for a bit to see what her cattery was like. When I asked the cattery owner how many cats she had, she said, "Oh, about 75." I said, "Wow, that is a lot of cats. Where do they all sleep?" and she replied, "In bed....with me..."
I burst out laughing and bought the little Smeller on the spot. I stuffed her inside my coat and drove home with an adorable, wiggly little kitten wailing like a banshee, kinda like a fur-covered air-raid siren.
Melody sleeping in a rainbow. Such a clever kitty.
Orientals are totally wild for about five years. You literally have to remove them from the ceiling. When they run through the house, their big, batlike ears make a flapping sound. They are extremely intelligent, unlike some other pedigreed cats ("nice house, nobody home..."). They are very affectionate, and almost monkeylike in their curiousity.
Melody was a shoulder cat. She loved to get up near your face, so she would drape herself around your neck and give you cheeky-wipes. She was not a lapcat, because a lap is not close enough to your face. It was almost impossible to sleep with her, as she insisted on "making the mooshies" on your face all night, giving you little chin-nibbles, trying to wash inside your ears, and generally making you all itchy and slimy. It did not help that her breath could drop you in your tracks, as she had a mild case of the auto-immune problems that made Phred's life miserable (read about that on Phred's page). Mel had a basket in another room, and slept there at night with the door shut.
A POEM
If you like heating in your house,Then you should get a Melody.
I don't think she could catch a mouse,
But she's as warm as she can be.
She wraps herself around your neck
And gives you kisses by the peck.
I think that I shall never see
A hug as warm as Melody.
And...that was exactly what she is doing as I was writing this! She purred nicely, and it felt like a gentle, warm massage. Melody was the latest thing in wearable pets. I miss her more than I can say. A friend of mine, who cat-sat for me once, had a hard time letting me have Melody back after her visit. She told me "I haven't had company like that since I was pregnant!" Then she went out and bought two Orientals.
There is nothing like an Oriental for good feline company. They love you enthusiastically and completely, jump into your arms, and talk to you. They are waiting at the door when you get home just like a dog. They like to ride in the car. As long as they can be with you, their lives are complete.
Melody has left a great empty space in my life. Her kitty ghost is opening the bathroom cabinet doors still. This does not frighten me at all, because she was a soul of pure brightness and sweetness...
SMELLYCAT WEBCAM!
April, 2000
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I love you too, Smellycat.