Phred was amazingly weird. He was very attached to me, and nobody else would do. It was difficult to get him to sit in my lap, because he preferred to just stand there and gaze into my eyes. He enjoyed a ride in the car, and he was happy to be wherever I took him. He was perfectly content to be taken to a class full of children and passed around. He looked on all of life as a pleasant adventure, with me the goddess and The Giver of All Things.

My beautiful Phred.

Phred was the only cat I have ever heard of who cleaned his teeth after eating. He used to chew holes in blankets and the arms off of sweaters until it dawned on me that he was using them for dental floss. After that I gave him his own socks to clean his teeth on, and he was very happy with them. He kept them by his food dish, and would eat a little food, then clean his teeth, eat a little more food, clean his teeth again...

Orientals suffer greatly from immune system disorders. They are sick a lot. Phred had a difficult five last years, and died in his 14th year of life. He spent the last two years on my lap in front of the computer. I made him an honorary CL (Cat Leader) at geocities. He fought to stay alive for long time. Phred died in my arms on a sad afternoon when he finally decided it was time to go. I buried Phred out by the edge of the woods, a place he especially liked.

We all miss Phred terribly. His half-sister, Melody (Melodious Kitty, Smellody, Malodorous, Meow Loudly, Smell Odious) cries for him day and night. If there are no cats in heaven, I plan to go wherever Phred is when I die. I know he is waiting for me.

An oriental "deli-cat"
is a graceful, skinny, beautiful creature
with the energy of a tornado and the curiousity of a...
well, of a cat.

Now that phred is no longer my computer lap-buddy, Soxy Rat is spending some time up my sleeve. Rats can be scanned, but they don't really enjoy it...

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