Charlie passed away at 3:15 p.m. December 16, 2002. He was the best cat ever.

Hello, my name is Charlie. I was abandoned when I was very young, probably less than a year old. No one knows for sure, and I'm not telling! I had several brothers and sisters. Some found homes and some didn't. I turned completely wild after awhile of being on my own. Here is how I came to not be a wild kitty anymore, and how I found my home.

The very first night I met my mom-to-be, I was sitting on her back fence. She was about to chase me off, but there was something about me that just gave her a strange feeling, and she decided not to. Maybe it's because that even when I was younger I was still a very big cat, and being mostly white and very wild, I looked a little spooky in the moonlight. Whatever it was, I'm sure glad she didn't!

The next time my mom-to-be saw me, I was running under their house! She did not want a cat to live under her house! She tried to chase me out, but I wouldn't go. Ha! Nobody bosses me around! She got tired of trying to chase me off, and just went away. She assumed that I would go away on my own, but she was wrong! I liked it under the house. It was nice and safe and quiet. I decided it would be a good place to live.

I am a Turkish Van cat. Maybe a mix, maybe not, there is no way to know for sure. Us Turkish Van cats are crazy about water, and the lady who would become my mom had a swimming pool in her back yard. Well, there is nothing I love more than water, so of course I had to pay a visit to the pool. I didn't think the lady would mind, because I saw her there with two kitties all of the time. She was always nice to them, so I thought maybe it would be okay.

I started visiting them in the evenings, and she didn't chase me off! I was still scared of her, and stayed on the other side of the pool, though. I watched her pet her kitties and play with them, and I always had a yearning look on my face, but if the lady tried to come near me, I would run away very fast. I did not like humans at all back then.

The lady put food outside for her cats to eat while they played. I was hungry, so I would always have some. I ate a lot more than her cats ate! The lady knew I was eating the food, but she felt sorry for me. She knew I was scared of her, so she would never come near me or even look at me while I was eating. I tried to always eat when she wasn't around, but she started bringing in the food at night when she brought in the kitties. She was nice, though, and would always rattle the food in the cat food bowl, so I would know that I had to come eat before she took the food in. I am very smart, so I figured it out quick!

This went on for a long, long time, with my mom-to-be edging closer and closer when I would come for meals. I could see her through the patio door. She would pretend not to notice me while doing other things. Sometimes I'd get scared anyway and run off, but mostly I was brave and let her come a tiny bit closer.

One day, she started keeping the glass patio door open while I ate. That was very scary! But she didn't try to come near me, so I got used to it. Then one day she did something very scary! She reached down with one finger and stroked me on the head! It was terrifying, and I ran off! But not too far, because I was hungry, and I never miss a meal! She didn't try again that night, because she knew I had to get used to the idea that she wasn't going to hurt me if she touched me.

The next few nights, she would pet me just once, very quickly on the head, and I would only run a few feet away. After a few minutes I would always come back. Then one night, I didn't run away at all.

I discovered I LIKED being petted!! I would let the lady pet me after I ate. She would say, "This is what it's like to be petted." Then she would pet me all over! It was kind of scary, but I would still let her, even though I flinched a lot. It was nice!

After that, I loved her, and I knew she was the human for me. I would lay on the back porch and howl at the top of my lungs for her. She would always come, even sometimes when she was busy. She would never get mad, even though sometimes she would say, "I don't have time for this!" Then she'd pet me anyway. She would have to come out and pet me many times in the evening, because I have a very loud voice and I would just scream until she came!

I started coming out from under the house in the afternoons and visiting with her. I wanted to be with her all the time! She kept saying, "I don't have time, Charlie". I didn't care. I just would yell until she came anyway.

One day, she left the patio door open, and coaxed me into the house. It was too scary! I ran away! But the next day she wouldn't come out. She said if I wanted to be petted that was fine, but I had to come in. So I did. It was very scary, so I would always run off after a few minutes. But one day, I got very brave, and didn't run off at all!

That is how I came to live with her. At first she would try to put me back outside at night. I'm no dummy, I put a stop to that! She thought she wasn't really going to adopt me. HA! I would fight and bite and claw her when she tried to put me out. Then she decided it was just too much trouble, so she let me sleep on the bed with her. I was happy, because that's what I wanted all along! Now I have a home of my very own!

I have been very happy here, but one day a few years ago, a bad thing happened. I was asleep in the hall, minding my own business, when my klutz of an owner caught my tail in the bathroom door. It was a horrible experience for us both. I had to have half of my tail amputated. I used to have a fluffy tail that was as long as my body, that I liked to play with all of the time. It was very beautiful. My owner feels terrible about it, but I don't hold a grudge. That's just the kind of cat I am!

Here are more pictures of a very handsome cat - ME! Click


here
to see my picture gallery!



Turkish Van Links!
Meet more great cats like me!

Cat Fancier's Association: Turkish Van
Lots of good general information about the breed.
WishnWhiskers Turkish Vans
Lots of pictures of adorable Turkish Van cats and kittens!
Vhantom's Turkish Van Cats
Lots of information and pictures!
Vantastix's CFA Turkish Van Breed Club
A site for owner's of pure breeds, but worth a look just to see the swimming cats!
Snapshots: A Turkish Van Photo Gallery
Lots of pictures of cute Turkish Van cats!

This Turkish Van WebRing site is owned by Deb Next Previous 5 Sites Next Five Previous Random Site Want to join the ring? Click here for info.

Pet Potpourri Home Page ------------------------------------------------ ~~~Personal Pet Pages~~~ ------------------------------------------------ Pet Pages Index Charlie, My Turkish Van Charlie's Gallery Charlie's Memorial Olivia, My Diabetic Kitty Olivia's Memorial Kitten Kraziness Stormy, My Tortie Sienna's Page Annie, My Lab Tribute to Alex, My Calico Alex's Gallery ------------------------------------------------ ~~~Pet Information & Humor~~~ ------------------------------------------------ Pet Loss Support and Information How To Find a Lost Cat Cat Diary Rules For Stray Cats ------------------------------------------------ ~~~Graphics Pages~~~ ------------------------------------------------ Border Backgrounds Calling Cards Blank Calling Cards Tube Credits ------------------------------------------------ ~~~Personal Pages~~~ ------------------------------------------------ Online Journal A Page For My Mom In Memory of Luci Bianchi My Nephew, Nash My Niece, Maia Rose My Nephew, Bix ------------------------------------------------ ~~~Miscellaneous Pages~~~ ------------------------------------------------ HTML For Beginners Angel Page The Fork ------------------------------------------------ ~~~Site-Related Pages~~~ ------------------------------------------------ Awards Links Credits Webrings Guestbook

Music is "Stray Cat Strut" by the Stray Cats.