Teacher's Pet, Classroom Assistant Lady Bronwyn

Most of us have had that special cat—a heart cat with whom we had a deep connection. It may have been the cat we had as a child, or the one that saw us through a troubled time, or one with whom we bonded as we exhibited at cat shows. Whether the cat found us or we sought it out, those connections cannot be denied. These are the stories of some of those special cats and what they mean or meant to us.

- Laurie Coughlan

One of the most interesting things I have noticed about CFA folks, especially breeders, is that nearly all have “heart kitties,” a special cat that communes with the owner’s soul. I was first introduced to the Tonkinese in 2000 when I adopted Purrtek’s Fur Elise, a blue solid female. I became enamored with the natural mink and natural solid colors because they reminded me of the wonderful traditional “applehead” Siamese who was my baby for twenty-four years.

Because I was part of a partnership, I could not always have things my way, so I waited ten years before I finally got my natural solid, RW GC GP Kiwendo’s Lady Bronwyn of Pawdancer. She came to me at three months of age from Karen Willis, who later became my mentor. I knew from the moment she came into our lives that she was something very special. There were no “getting to know you” hisses or growls … she just assimilated naturally, as if she had lived in our house since birth.