As we approachthe 4th of July I figured that I should take a moment to wave my favorite American original around. Figuratively, of course.
The Maine Coon is the original American longhair breed. I've heard many origination stories about them, and really, I like them all. They could be the descendants of the cats that were kept on Viking ships. I think I'd have preferred staying in the New World to a long, cold wet sea voyage back home. Maine Coons could be the rugged descendants of Marie Antionette's pampered cats, smuggled to America to wait for whatever parts of the queen made it to these shores. The Maine Coon could be offspring of a Sea Captain's cats, hearty and rugged with a taste for their grog.
And a Maine Coon named Cosey won the first American cat show in 1895.
Maddie exhibits traits I can imagine in all of these predecesors. While she generally displays more of the pampered princess in her daily life and habits, she's shown her general ruggedness in her swift recovery from her knee surgery and time in the mewlag. She's a very intelligent cat, which sea cats in general would have to be, in order to stay alive and on the ship. And Maddie certainly went all Rampaging Viking Cat on the vet during her last visit.
This melange of possible backgrounds seems to be a very American idiom to me. We're a mix of ideas and cultures. Culturally we're much more the alley cat than a pure-breed. It seems though, even our pure-breed cat has a vibrant mix in the background. That's the way it should be.
Here she is, waving the only flag nature gave her to wave:
HooRay!
Beautiful flag, and nice trousers too!
I catsit a Maine Coon, hes absolutely gorgeous and quite independent too.
Posted by: Scooby, Shaggy & Scout | July 07, 2011 at 08:02 AM