Monday, May 10, 2010

Siamese Cat Tails

Long ago, in Thailand, which was called Siam, there lived two cats ~ the very first Siamese cats. 

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They were highly respected, as they were the guardians of temples, and when a person died, one of the cats was chosen to receive the dead person's soul. 

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As temple cats, they had special powers... and special abilities.

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Once, during a time of war, when all the men of Siam left their homes to defend their kingdom, just two cats ~ a male Siamese named Tien and a female Siamese named Chula ~  remained to guard Buddha's golden goblet in the sacred temple.

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Tien soon became restless. 

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He spent a little "quality time" with Chula, and then left to find another priest who could look after the temple.

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Chula, however, took her responsibilities very seriously, to the point of obsession. 

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She would not take her eyes off Buddha's treasure and never once looked away from the golden goblet. 

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To be safe, she wrapped her tail around it so, if she happened to fall asleep, it would still be safe. 

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Time passed and the kittens from Tien's last visit grew inside here. 

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Chula waited and waited for Tien to return. 

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But finally, after 63 days, her kittens were ready to be born.  Still she kept her eye on the goblet as she gave birth to her litter.

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To her amazement, the kittens showed the very characteristics that Chula had acquired during her time as a watch cat: a kinked tail and crossed eyes. 

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Even today, every so often, Siamese kittens are born with those features, perhaps because they are the distant descendants of Chula.

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You can find their bracelet, a pendant necklace, and earrings here.

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