(Farsi name meaning "free")
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After Omar, I knew that I needed another Persian in my life...but, to be fair to
the newcomer, it was necessary to wait until enough time had passed that I wouldn't
expect an exact duplicate. Each cat is a separate and distinct personality, and must
be loved and understood for his/her unique little self. So, I contented myself with
visiting web pages, went to a cat show, and the first two breeders I contacted came
to naught. Clearly, the time was not quite right.
Finally, after nearly a year, in June 99 a Persian momcat belonging to one of
the librarians at our public library had a litter which was ready to go, having
been born on April 4. One of the babies was a pure white boy, and his human mom
wanted to place him with someone with at least prior Persian experience.
(Persians do need more grooming than most other breeds, and a white coat requires a
bit more attention than other colors.) And here I was, a little nervous but ready
at last and very excited!
Baby Azad proved to be a very brave, athletic, and cuddly little guy. He was
fascinated with the ferrets, and spent a lot of time sitting next to their cages,
watching them intently and occasionally poking a paw inside at them.
Da Boyz, two grown-up brothers, were too unruly and rough
to allow direct contact with a small kitten, but little Boo,
who was too easily overpowered by Da Boyz herself and who'd had to spend her out-of-cage
playtime solo as a result, was smaller and just a bit more gentle, so we experimented
with letting her out to meet him his second night.
It was a rousing success! The two of them were very close in size, and Azad
seemed to find her a fairly close substitute for the littermates he'd left behind.
They'd chase and wrestle with each other every single evening for the entire hour or
so that was Boo's playtime.
The first afternoon he came home, I was lying next to him on the bed
as he was taking a short nap and I was filled with so much happiness at the mere
sight of his beautiful little Yoda face that I just started laughing out loud.
He was very trusting and loving with humans (thank you Mechelle, Drew, and young
Sebastian, for giving him such a good first home and first impression of people),
playful and incredibly lovely. I knew he was going to grow into a great cat.
....and so he did!
Without being at all submissive, Azad doesn't look for or cause trouble with any of the
other cats. Somehow he seems to operate outside of the hierarchy, never being pushy or rude.
He's a good-tempered guy, though he definitely makes it clear when he does *not* like something.
(Like "Don't pet me *there*!", "Do *not* wash my face right now!", "No more combing!")
He can now handle the big ferrets, mostly by keeping out of their way and watching closely,
and continues to play with his particular buddy, Boo. Among the cats, he's closest to
Buster Badseed, the two of them occasionally play chase-me-chase-you through the house and
have little wrestling matches, and (after an uneasy beginning) he and Molly Samin can often
be found quietly hanging out together.
And then, there's that face!
While he's turned out to be not very interested in cuddling (he *loves* having his cheeks
and chin rubbed, though), and he's definitely not a lap cat, he purrs when spoken to, or
when you make eye contact. He starts every night settled between the pillows on the bed
...often with his head resting on his mom's pillow.
I still laugh out loud, for the very beauty of him. He warms my heart.
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