READER’S DIGEST
July• 2019 | 81Orwell’s coping mechanism, luck-
ily, was petrification. “We have a Sia-
mese meatloaf,” the first judge told
t he crowd, using the term applied to
overweight cats. The spectators in the
ringawwedas Orwell shivered on
the bench. The judge lifted his tail,
inspected his ears and rubbed under
his chin. “A true apple-cheeked Sia-
mese,” she exclaimed. “You don’t see
it anymore!” For decades, Oriental
cats have been bred for pointed fac-
es, but the judge was smitten by his
nostalgic facial traits.
After she showedall 14 competing
household pets, she began pinning
ribbons to each kennel from 10th
place to first, with a brief declaration
of worth for each one.
“For the kitty who lost her ear to
frostbite...10th place!”
“Lily is very elegant, the sweetest
looking cat...sixth place!”
As we neared the top three, Janae
looked at me with wide eyes. “This
little guy,” said the judge, turning
to Orwell. “Old-style traditional
Siamese. Nice dark features. And
he’s not one of those skinny mini
cats. Full-body seal point... third
place!”
He had seven more rounds to go,
then another eight the next day, but
surely if he could snatch bronze in
his first attempt, he would be going
home with a few gold finishes.O
UR HOMEcan be split into
two eras: pre-Orwell and
post-Or wel l.
From the moment we found her at
the Humane Society in 2009, Darwin
wanted to be held like a baby, and
that is how we have always treated
her. Some nights we kept her out,
until her crying became so relent-
less that it was more tolerable to
lose sleep while her sandpaper-like
tongue scraped off layers of my face.
Orwell moved in a year later, and
Darwin immediately began showing
slight predatory behaviour, stalking
him and swatting him when he got
too close. But Orwell was a lovebug,
dumbly following his frenemy, no
matter how loudly she hissed.
By the time she was in her terri-
ble twos, which is to say her teens,
Darwin became more withdrawn,
but middle age has mellowed her
out. In recent years we’ve caught
the two cats regularly snuggling.
Always, Darwin was the one groom-
ing Orwell. It appears affectionate,
but according toCat Sense: How the
New Feline Science Can Make You aORWELL’S COAT
AND ICY BLUE EYES
IMPRESSED THE
JUDGES, BUT HIS
PERSONALITYWA S L ACK I NG