I think I mentioned that Pan and Dee are Maine Coonâs, didnât I? Well, let me tell you a bit about the Maine Coonâs and then Iâll tell you more about Pan and Dee and their House on Walnut Drive.
Originally from the East Coast of the United States, Maineâs have chosen to live closely with humans for over a hundred years now. Years ago the âold wives taleâ was that Maineâs were a mixed-breed of Raccoon and Wild Cat, but since Nature wonât let that happen, the truth is theyâre just big olâ warm-hearted cats who have stripes (rings) on their tails. Sometimes Maineâs get to be more than 20 pounds (Pan and Deeâs father was 28 pounds and over 4 feet long!), theyâve got HUGE feet (for walking on snow when they lived in the wild) and with their luxuriously soft and long fur, theyâre quite beautiful.
Not only are they gorgeous animals, but Maineâs are also known for their gentle nature and friendliness to all creatures, human, bird or animal. Often called the âDogs of the Cat Worldâ for their affection and loyalty towards their humans â they play âfetchâ and usually know their toys by name â and are able to train their humans to do amazing âtricksâ, such as âbring me tuna instead of dry foodâ or âsurpriseâ gifts, such as toys. Maineâs are very intelligent creatures, often spending their sleep hours each day dreaming of âcat missionsâ and their awake hours carrying out the things they thought of while they were sleep.
And while they are fully capable of the usual âmeowâ that most domesticated cats are known for, Maineâs have highly developed communication skills and prefer to âchirpâ a greeting to their human friends when approached â in tone and length, a Maine âchirpâ is the equivalent of âHi, how are you?â that humans often use to greet one another. Now that you know a bit more about Maineâs, let me tell you about Pan and Dee.
Pandora is the older sister â sheâs in her 7th life – and as such, is The Queen of the House. Sheâs 39 inches long and weighs 21 pounds, with a beautiful, longhaired âtabbyâ coat that is softer than the finest cashmere. Pandora has very large and expressive dark brown eyes that give her face such a warm, intelligent and inviting appearance that you know youâre in the presence of a very special creature when she turns to gaze at you. Pan also has a brilliant white patch on her chest that stretches down each of her legs giving her âwhite socksâ on each leg and paw. Panâs ears remain very much as her ancestors had when they lived in the wild â theyâre large (for hearing the tiniest sounds) and have very long, dark brown tufts on the very top that stick up about 1/4â.
By nature, Maineâs are âpeople catsâ, but because Pandora is a late-stage Maine, sheâs especially gentle and caring to every living thing she encounters. Unlike most cats, when Pan meets a human for the first time, sheâs quite comfortable with them and prefers to be at face level with them so she can look in their eyes to âmake contactâ with them⌠unnoticed by most, when sheâs really interested in getting to know them, as sheâs looking into their eyes, her nose will crinkle a bit as she inhales their breath to determine if theyâre a good human.. Once satisfied the new person is a good human, sheâll begin purring as a way of showing her acceptance of them. And what a purr it is: very deep – almost rumbling â and, given her appearance and affectionate personality, itâs very soothing to be around her when sheâs in a deep purr mode.
As you probably know, all cats are capable of living nine full and complete lives. Pan is in her 7th and in reaching this point in life, sheâs learned to quickly judge the good from bad and the wise from the foolish. In the process, Pan has become very wise & patient creature, able to deal with many different and difficult situations. Given her late stage life, Pandora has developed the unique ability to communicate some of her knowledge to most animals and, from time to time, even humans and, in doing so, has become a good mentor to many creatures. Panâs favorite toy is âMaroon Mouseâ and she often brings it to Grandpa Cat to share with him and to entice him to play with her.
Although Pandora came to live with the family as Scottâs pet, because Grandpa Cat was always an early morning person, Pan would get up with him in the pre-dawn hours to enjoy a few moments of peace, quiet and ear scritching (hers, not his). It was during this time that Pan and Grandpa Cat began âbondingâ a bit more than usual because each morning – rain or shine – when Grandpa Cat went outdoors precisely at 5:30AM to get the morning paper he would carry Pan in his arms and, once outside, point to the star-filled sky and say to her âif you ever get lost, this is where you liveâ. Grandpa Cat did this throughout the year to make sure Pan was able to see how the sky and positions of the planets, stars and constellations would change based on the time of year and seasons. When they moved to the House on Walnut, Grandpa Cat continued the training so, should Pan ever be outside and feel lost, at night she could look up and know where she was and where home should be. (I’m glad to say this knowledge came in handy later in Pan’s life, but I’ll write more details later in the Legend.)
Over the years, Pandora developed a great deal of affection towards Grandpa Cat and now accompanies him pretty much wherever he goes. Pan constantly communicates with him by jumping up on counters and furniture to be at his height to rub noses and foreheads with him, always closing her eyes and purring loudly. Pandora loves to go outside with Grandpa Cat whenever he works in the yard, often spending the entire afternoon sitting under the apple tree in her favorite outside chair, keeping her eye on her domain and, from time to time, taking what appear to be cat naps.
Pandora love cheeses – she craves Bleu, Stilton, Cheddar and Smoked Gouda! â and Honey Ham. Although her vet, Dr Bueno, says itâs bad for her, raw beef is also a special treat she cherishes. Panâs favorite musical group is Queen (naturally!) and her favorite songs are âMagicâ and âThe Days of Our Livesâ. Pan loves to meet new people and to greet the neighbors whenever she has a chance. When visitors come to the house, Panâs the first one to greet them, usually by lifting her face toward them so they can pet her on the forehead. Pan loves to be in the kitchen, watching people cook, smelling the ingredients for the meal⌠âaskingâ for a close up smell when sheâs interested and a taste when it seems especially inviting. Pan loves to watch the âoutside animalsâ such as birds and squirrels, but due to her maturity at this point in live, is uninterested in harming them and, in fact, is really curious about their lives and what itâs like to live outside.
Now Delilah, Pandoraâs younger sister, is quite another story. Dee is in her 4th life (a âTweenâ, if you will) and has an entirely differently outlook on life than Pandora does.
Weighing just about 19 pounds and 36â long, Dee has a beautiful coat that is a variety of shades of brown with a few streaks of black blended in. Dee is as beautiful as Pan, but in a completely different way: whatâs most striking about Dee is that she has many âbobcatâ markings, a white nose and muzzle and 1â ear tufts that change color with each season. And while Dee is a Maine Coon (and so âlikesâ people), because sheâs a tween cat, sheâs not quite figured out exactly what kind of people she likes and so is a little skittish. Sometimes, she likes being around quiet people and other times, she likes being with people who donât quite seem to fit in with everybody else â kind of like she feels about herself at times â so one day sheâll be friendly and another sheâll be distant.
Like Pandora, Delilah is a very expressive cat so that, if youâre aware of such things, you can tell how sheâs feeling just by looking at her. Probably the easiest way to read her is to watch how sheâs walking. Most of the time, Delilah carries her tail in the straight out or straight up position, indicating a great interest in life and a general sense of excitement. Like all cats, though, from time to time her tail will be in the âdownâ, or, as cats say among themselves, the âmy tailâs dragging todayâ position, with not very much energy or perhaps a little âdownâ about something.
Always curious and very eager to explore, try new things and play tricks on others, Dee often gets in trouble because she is interested in everything and sometimes doesnât think things completely through before acting. Dee likes to have her shoulders and feet rubbed. Delilahâs favorite toy is a fuzzy pink fuzzy ball known as âBinkyâ. Delilah typically carries Binky between her front teeth and makes a shrill chirping sound. Dee makes a âbrrrrrpâ sound as her chirp, but can make a typical (and loud) MEOW when she wants. Like Pandora, Dee loves the rock group, Queen, her very favorite are The Kinks… for her, their song, “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” is great rock and roll and says a lot about how she feels – She’s Not Like Everybody Else! (and she wants you to know that đ
Now that you know more about Pan and Dee, Iâll tell you a bit more about their lives and adventures in the next installment.