Cleveland Cian was born in September 2003 and joined our family early in 2004. She is our third Cleveland Siamese, but the first two are no longer with us.
First was Thai Lu. She was advertised in the local newspaper in an ad that stated "needs patient owner". I figured that meant she was a "neurotic" - and I was right. It didn't take long to gain her trust and get her reasonably normal (though my kids would disagree and say she was never anywhere near normal!)
Cleveland #2 was always a little more nervous than Thai Lu, and didn't stay long before disappearing.
Cleveland Cian is one of 21 kittens who were born within 10 days or so of one another, from three mothers. Being a "full-price" Siamese, she arrived in our family as a normal, well-adjusted youngster with the most amazing and loudest purr I have ever come across. (Again, my kids would dispute the "normal" bit!)
A couple of months ago Liz (owner of Cleveland) asked me if I was inerested in another "neurotic". Since Siamese cats are the most beautiful, elegant, exotic creatures I find them totally irresistable and it was inevitable that Jack would join the family!
Jack is another of the "21 of 9/03". He was apparently a relatively normal kitten, but having not been sold he was destined to a life in the cattery, and chose to completely disassociate himself from humans. Liz said she knew he was still there because the food disappeared every day! I can vouch for the fact that he was a very good eater as he was extremely well covered when he came to us! He had initially lived with a brother, but when they were taken to the vet for de-sexing, the brother was so crazy that he was put to sleep instead.
I've tamed plenty of wild cats in the past, but Jack was by far the biggest challenge ever. He was so traumatised that it was upsetting - I felt cruel just having him in the house. As with his two "neurotic" predecessors, he was installed in our bathroom. The idea is that once he settles into the bathroom and starts to relax, he is allowed into our closet as well; after further progress the bedroom is added to his "territory" and so on, until he has the run of the whole house. I made his bed in an old printer box laid on its side. With three sides of the lid closed it made a nice secure den. He cringed in it for weeks, absolutely petrified - and I cringed every time I looked at him because he was so dreadfully unhappy.
On the rare occasions when I spotted him out of his box, he dived back into it and huddled as close as he could against the back wall. That was when he was named: Jack, because he was always in his bix - "Jack-in-the-box"!!
He was pretty stoic most of the time, as his preferred method of dealing with humans was to "play dead". But every now and then he would transform into a ball of claws and teeth resulting in scratches and bites all over my hands and arms. It seemed that my attempts to handle him and gain his confidence were totally unsuccessful, and he always greeted me with the same look of fear and horror at my presence.
Just when I was contemplating total failure and considering the possibility of Jack following in the footsteps of his doomed brother, a breakthrough: quite suddenly, he purred! He was in his printer box, and I was gingerly stroking him waiting for the explosion of claws. It is amazing how happy that purr made me!
Jack was still a long way from tame: he would purr, then swat or bite me quite savagely - just when my defences were down because I thought he was happy! However, once the ice was broken with that first purr, he improved in leaps and bounds. Only a few days after his initial purring, he started rubbing on the wall in the closet, tail in the air, almost like a normal cat (but I still had to watch out for the swatting and biting!). I left the doors to bathroom and closet open, allowing him the run of the house, and he now spends a lot of time in our bedroom, and is often seen in the living room and kitchen.
Only a few days more and Jack is rubbing on my legs as well as the chair and walls in the closet, and the swatting has almost ceased. He certainly knows me and is not nearly as confident with anyone else in the family. He's not quite ready to be on top of the bed yet, that is still beyond his comfort zone.
Jack has never been worried about dogs, but with his new-found confidence he is really mean to them when they venture into his territory - attacking without mercy. He has now learnt a new trick: ambush from under the bed ( as Skud discovered to his sorrow this evening!)