Beautiful Companion

Losing Cleo was a very difficult experience. Mike and I were extremely upset, and to make things worse, we were living in a place where animals are not cherished like they are in the USA. We had her cremated so we could bring her home with us, there was no way I was leaving her in Naples!

I was so distraught about losing Cleo that I reached out to the International Egyptian Mau Association. The Italian vets kept flip flopping on the diagnosis, they really didn't know what killed Cleo. I felt I knew more then they did. Anyway, Marie Christine, the President of the Egyptian Mau Association, helped me do a little research. We found that in the past when Egyptian Maus were first brought to the USA the breeders were guilty of inbreeding, this would cause health problems in the cats. Cleo was a classic case of inbreeding. As a result of this, she acquired bad teeth, she was constantly swallowing bacteria which led to the vicious infection. We reported the breeder so hopefully no one ever has to go through what we did. I would give anything to have Cleo back, she was such a joy.....

During the time Marie Christine was helping me, she always said, "when you are ready, I will have a kitten for you." Well, we finally felt ready in November. Marie-Christine's cattery is just outside Paris. She believes in the same philosophy I do, that we should preserve the Egyptian Mau so that is around for future generations, it's not about cat shows and competitions. She actually said "if we can't breed a healthy Mau then we should leave them all in Egypt, where they are from!" She makes annual trips to Egypt for healthy Maus to keep the bloodline STRONG. We told her we were coming to Paris to celebrate our 10th anniversary and perhaps we could come by and visit her and her Maus! She said "of course!" That is also when she said, "I have the perfect kitten for you." She sent us photos and we were smitten!

November came and off to Paris we went! On my birthday, we took the train to just outside Paris, where Marie-Christine's husband picked us up. We stopped at the bakery and cheese shop before getting to the house. We pulled up in the driveway of a beautiful chateau, I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a large garden that was completely fenced in with trees and all these little Maus running around! Inside, the place was spotless. It had all the original wood floors and beautiful antiques. "This is a cattery?" I thought. The Maus had full range of the house, and there was a cat door to the garden, so they could go outside and climb the trees. or take a cat nap in the sun. I loved that, I always believe that a cat should be allowed to be a cat! After touring the house and garden, we sat down for lunch. Marie-Christine and her husband prepared the most wonderful meal, there were fresh veggies from the garden wonderful bread and cheese and of course wine! They treated us like part of the family. After lunch we met our kitten. She was 6 months old and HUGE!!! We named her Nefertari, which means beautiful companion.

There she was, sitting on the stairs, she seemed innocent enough........