Siamese: yes please!

As you will notice, Finn is a Siamese, though of the particular type, I am not sure. Seal point, it seems, maybe Chocolate (although I wonder if the colorings for seal and chocolate aren't really the same).
Finn is like a cat-dog. I've read many places that Siamese cats are a strange breed, and it's obvious to me that Finn isn't like any other cats I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. He does not like spending much time alone, except for now and then in the evening when he sits in front of the windows looking out at bugs. In fact, he is a very needy cat, which is a feature in dogs that I thought I didn't like (I have always considered myself a non-dog person). However, I like that Finn is my needy little buddy. I like that he follows me from room to room, and takes any opportunity to sit on my lap or lay nearby. I like that we play hide-and-seek (though I've done this with other cats, too), and that he'll play a game akin to fetch. He's a good boy. As Luke likes to say, he's the -best- boy.

I can't tell you how many times I've been out with Finn and people tell me how much they don't like Siamese, or ask me if he's mean, or tell me about a Siamese they used to have that was really nasty. By comparison, it's only been a few times that people have told me that they have or have had a Siamese and loved him or her dearly. So, I have a theory...
Siamese are intelligent cats. All cats are intelligent, but I think Siamese have an intelligence that is less efficient-survivalist cat-intelligence, and more like bumbling human intelligence. And I think that if you are going to have a Siamese cat, you have to be prepared to spend a lot of time connecting with him or her in order for their personalities to develop in a positive way, just like with a child. Siamese cats need time and attention--if you don't have these to give, don't get a Siamese. In fact, in my opinion, if you can't give time and attention, you shouldn't be parenting any animal.

In which I Introduce Finn; "cat parenthood"

This is Finn.
I am crazy about him.
"Crazy," you may mumble, "yes, clearly." It's okay. I know I'm up against a long tradition of cat-lover stereotypes.
Finn is actually named Phineas Wolf. I wanted to name him "Finn" because I'm a medievalist and I adore Beowulf; Finn Folcwalding is a Frisian king in the poem, and my ancestors on my father's side came from Frisia. Thus, Finn. Luke, my boyfriend, prefers Phineas, and so it is that Finn has actually two different names that sound the same--Finn, and Phin(eas). I don't know if anyone but Luke and I realize this. At the vet, Finn is Phineas.

I used to think that people who created blogs had too much extra time on their hands or were pent up emotionally. I'm doing it now because these days blogging seems more mainstream, like online dating and reality television; there is the lure of money or being discovered by publishers; and, relevantly, I have too much extra time on my hands and am pent up emotionally.
No, really, it occurred to me that I spend a good part of every day with my cat, Finn, in addition to shopping for him, or thinking about him, or researching feline health matters. As I care for Finn, I am discovering new things about myself that point toward some sense of how I would/will? care for children. That's exciting. But I also find it interesting how fulfilled I am by Finn--perhaps I even feel a bit guilty at the thought that if by chance I don't or can't have children (I'm 31, unmarried, and the clock is ticking), I could find such joy in being a cat's mother. Is that just weird?
I thought so.