I got married 25 years ago and moved north to live with my husband. My husband would work all day long and I felt lonely in a foreign city. I wanted to get a dog or a cat, but the North is cold. This would be a problem for taking the dog out for daily walks, so I settled on a cat. There were no cat clubs in town, so I started searching for a kitten. This was harder than I thought it would be. I would have happily taken any kitten! I asked all my friends and acquaintances; daily I wandered the streets in hopes of finding a homeless kitten or cat, whom I would have gladly grabbed and carried home. But I could not find any cats or kittens. Finally, one Sunday afternoon we went to the market and there, on the corner, stood was a woman with kittens! She was giving them away for free. I got the last black and white kitten, with white paws - as if in slippers - and with white patches on his belly and face. I was in seventh heaven from happiness! There were now three of us in the family! A year later a daughter was born to us. Now we were four, our cat a year older than our daughter. Our daughter and the cat grew together.
Soon we decided to leave the northern region and return to my hometown Nizhny Novgorod. For several days, my daughter, my cat and I went by train with all our belongings. We moved from apartment to apartment numerous times in our life, but our cat was always with us. He had also acquired quite a few necessities, such as toys, trays and bowls. But most importantly, we were together!
When our daughter turned 16 years, the cat was already 17. His health started to let him down. We fought for him with all we had. We didn't want to let him die. It is so sad that cats do not live long. He had become a part of our lives, a part of our family. When he was gone, there was a void in our hearts. Life was not the same without him.
I cried for a long time and my soul was downcast. When shopping at the supermarket, I would go to the pet section to buy something delicious for the cat, but then I would remember that he was gone. All family members were inconsolable for the loss. And I said to myself that I would never again get another pet! For several years there were no pets in our home.
But I longed to once again feel a purring little kitten in my arms, so I began searching the ads for kittens. My daughter showed me the photo of a Burmese cat. I have never seen such cats. The gaze of these piercing amber eyes, silky coat, muscular body in a crease of a macho-cat did not leave my thoughts.
I started to research the breed, read different articles, called the catteries and asked breeders different questions. Burmese kittens were very expensive. But even that didn't stop me. I desired to become the owner of this beauty.
Then, on International Women's Day, my husband gave me a present. He bought a Burmese cat! I was incredibly happy! I had finally become the owner of a Burmese cat.
Burmese cats are different from other breeds thanks to their charisma. They like the game of fetch, can roll themselves up into a ball under a blanket. They are talkative, highly sociable and are true friends.
I decided to take up the breeding of Burmese cats. I completed a course in felinology and registered the cattery. I continue to stay in touch with other Burmese breeders and learn something new and interesting about these cats all the time.
Although this is not easy work, requiring a lot of energy, time and investment, I get great pleasure from this process!