Hello everyone, Meerclar here. I'm da oldest one, and I like the other kitties, although I have to groom them at times.
Meerclar: aka da Goober
Born: June 20, 1993 (On Summer Solstice)
Breed: Domestic Short Hair; Classic Black Cat
Meerclar's story:
Meerclar, like Luna, came to us in a magical way. I used to have a Russian Blue, a wonderful, darling girl named Meerclar. She was a special cat and when she died in 1992 of age and illness, I was devastated. Well, in 1993, a week before the summer solstice, I had a vision in which a calico (Circe) I had shared my life with for many years (and who vanished right when Meerclar died, one of the many reasons I now keep my girls indoors), came to me. She was bipedal, standing like a human, but with a cat head and covered with fur, and I knew she was in the service of Bast. I was so happy to see her and asked, "What do you think of my new calico?"
She looked at Luna, who was sleeping on the bed at the time, and said, "I was a prettier calico than that."
Well, I knew this was Circe from that attitude! She then said, "Meerclar is getting ready to incarnate again. Do you want her back?"
By then, Sam and I had three cats and I knew that I'd better ask him what he thought first. I reluctantly said, "I'll have to ask Sam if we can take her."
Circe told me, "Before the new moon, do a ritual and tell Bast what you want." And then she vanished.
Well, I immediately told Sam what I had seen and heard, and he assured me we could take care of Meerclar. So I cast a circle, told Bast that we'd love to have her, and thought no more about it. A few days later, we were at a friend's house for Litha, and their black cat Nuit went into labor. We watched the kittens being born and when the second one popped out, I knew that the baby was Meerclar, and that she was a girl. When she reached eight weeks old, we brought her home.
Three things I find amusing. One, when she was still a Russian Blue, Meerclar hated black cats more than any other. I don't know why, but if she ended up in a fight, it would inevitably be with a black cat. And now, she is one. Kitty Karma, perhaps?
The second thing I noticed was that Meerclar, as a Russian Blue, had lost her left eye due to a nasty infection that even $800 worth of medicine and care couldn't control. She got along fine, though I always felt like somehow it was my fault (mommy-guilt). But a few weeks after we brought her home as a black kitty, she developed an infection in her left eye and I rushed her to the veterinarian, who calmly prescribed an ointment that cleared up the condition within a couple of days. But it felt like her way of saying, "See, it's me, you're getting another chance..."
The third thing that tickles my fancy is that when I first brought Pakhit home in 1990, she seemed to revitalize Meerclar and the two became fast friends. When I bought Meerclar home in 1993 as a baby, she and Pakhit became fast friends again, picking up where they left off though with Pakhit as the dominant kitty this time.
Meerclar is a spooky cat this time around, seeing monsters everywhere and in everything. She's vocal and loves to talk to us, skittish and hyper, happy and playful. She has so much energy that I get tired just watching her zoom around the house, playing with everything that comes into reach of her paws. She gets along with all three of our other cats, is the low-cat in the hierarchy and doesn't seem to care a whit. The following updates started when I created my first website.
November 1998 Update On Meerclar: Meerclar has discovered the joys of waiting until we crawl into bed and are just starting to fall asleep before she decides she wants petted. She stands on my night stand, by my head, and purrs so loud and makes her little squeaking noises until I have to give in and obediently scrub her back down good and hard. She still has a fetish for several of my stuffed animals and can't keep away from them when she sees them, kneading them into happy oblivion.
January 2000 Update On Meerclar: Meerclar is just about the same as ever--goofy and silly. Not much else to tell. We got her a stuffed penguin to try and replace Bobo in her eyes, but that doesn't seem to be working.
January 2001 Update On Meerclar: Not much to tell, except her stuffed penguin from last year has become a buddy and friend, and is in danger of losing his insides due to her loving attentions. We bought her a new toy for Yule this past year but she still loves the penguin and the strange relationship continues.
October 2001 Update on Meerclar: Hmmm...well, Meerclar has become much more of a lap cat the past six months, not sure what's up with that. She actually will crawl on my lap in the living room now instead of waiting until bed time. She has lost interest in her penguin for now. Poor Penguin.
November 2002 Update on Meerclar: Meerclar's penguin is no more; Linux the Penguin went to the great Arctic heaven in the north. Too much stuffing was coming out. Meerclar's now fixated on these little felt mice we bought the cats for Yule last year--she will carry them around in her mouth, meowing through the felt which sounds *very* strange. She does that in the middle of the night, carrying them up on our bed, waking us up so we can praise her 'hunting' skills. She's still afraid of 'monsters' and still looks so much like a kitten. Hard to believe she's nine going on ten. She's looking good and still our 'goober' kitty.
April 2004 Update on Meerclar: Meerclar is still as goofy as ever. She has become much more affectionate, however, and gotten a little more chunky than is probably good for her. She'll be 11 this year, and she's decided that it's more fun to put on the ounces and lay around, than go racing around the house all the time. So we're trying to figure out how she's doing it, because she eats last in the little hierarchy that is our feline household. Her coat's become very thick and lush, and I can brush and brush and brush her and there's still excess fur there. The goober still sees monsters everywhere, and she's still very much a kitten at heart. Our baby is always going to be a baby, methinks. ~smiles~
November 2004 Update on Meerclar: Well, as I said in Luna's update, the twits escaped for awhile. Meerclar was gone for two weeks exactly in late July--early August this year. We were totally heartbroken and I kept imagining her out there at the mercy of dogs and motorists and people who don't have any compunction about hurting an animal. We saw her twice during that time, so we knew she was alive--and both times she seemed to show up when I was at my lowest, terrified that she was dead. But she was skittish, very scared from being in a world she's not familiar with, and both times she ran off before we could catch her. Two weeks to the day that she had disappeared, Sam and I were sitting around when the doorbell rang. Sam looked at me sadly and said, "Maybe it's Meerclar." He went to answer and what do you know? It WAS Meerclar! In a carrier--our neighbor and his friend knew we were looking for her and they happened to see her. They got scratched up a bit (heroic men--gotta love them!), but they persevered and caught our girl. She lost almost five pounds--luckily she was almost 14 when she escaped, and needed fluids and a lot of rest, and it took a couple weeks before she and Keeter were best buddies again, but all is well now and she's home where she belongs.
January 2006 Update on Meerclar: Meerclar is back to her pre-escape weight and I'm beginning to think she needs a tiny bit of a diet. She's a chunky girl all right, and her cholesterol and triglycerides were high on her bloodwork this past year. However, she's not in serious danger, we just have to try to get her to exercise more. She's the ultimate couch potato cat and is happiest when she's just snoozling, though she does love to play with Keeter and get into the catnip parties we throw for them. She's still the goober she's always been, perhaps a bit more vocal than she used to be, and she'll turn 13 in June.
April 2007 Update on Meerclar: Meerclar has to get her teeth cleaned soon, and that worries us because she doesn't do well with the pain meds--makes her foam at the mouth and get a little freaky, but there's no help for it. However, our vet said he can use different medications to help alleviate the problem. Meerclar will be 14 on June 20th, and she's still the delightful goober that she always is. She's round and happy and goofy, and her fur is nice and thick.
August 2008 Update on Meerclar: Meerclar came through her annual with flying colors, except for having to have her teeth cleaned. We're concerned because she misses her Keeter buddy so much, they were best pals. She and Tara are co-existing in peace, they will eat side by side, but they won't really interact much except a little hissy fit now and then. I wish they could become friends, it would do the Goober good. But at least she's eating and asking for attention and getting plenty of it. She's 15 now.
October 2008 Update on Meerclar: Meerclar isn't altogether thrilled with Calypso, but she isn't hitting her or getting very upset, except when Calypso jumps in her face. We're hoping they cozy up as time goes on, but for introducing an old cat to a young one, it's going pretty good. She IS playing more since we brought Calypso into the household, and that's good to see.
January 2011 Update on Meerclar: Ever since we moved into the new house, she has taken to 'providing' for us, by bringing us cat toys. She will go to the cat box (full of cat toys, of course), LOUDLY 'MEOW... MEOW... MEOW...' while she drags the toy along, and in a motherly manner, deposit the toy in Yasmine's office. Then, wash, rinse, repeat. Samwise has watched her do this again and again, five toys in a row. The house is big, so she has a long walk to traverse. Then, once she has made a 'pile' of toys in Yasmine's office, she will circle around the pile and meow very loud. We love her for it.
December 2011 Update on Meerclar: We just realized that Meerclar is the cat that Yasmine has been with the longest. She is now over 18 years old. And, she is happy, loving, and loves her sisters very much. Yay.
