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| "The
Story of “Little Majik” or Christmas Majik"
by
Rosie Alger
2006
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Our
old and much loved lilac Burmese stud, Grand Champion Majik
Lantin was nearly 15 years old and although healthy, had a suspect
aging heart problem and had not sired kittens for some time.
We felt in view of his condition it would be risky to neuter
him. So that he should not be lonely and still feel needed,
we gave him a chocolate queen of his own to keep him company.
She was an excellent choice, as she was full of love and more
than happy to make his old age happy. We did have a slight problem
that she tended to eat more than was good for her figure, but
we were happy for her indulge herself in Majik’s “treats”,
as she was doing so much for his morale.
Christmas morning 2005 gave us a fantastic Christmas present
we hadn’t expected! One of our Cattery ladies was bursting
with the news, that having gone into their house to service
them, Majik and Missy were wrapped up in each other’s
arms in the heated bed with a washed and polished new born kitten
between them. |
Knowing
the circumstances, and having her weight problem we had not
realised or expected that she was pregnant. Missy and kitten
were immediately despatched indoors to our bedroom and two
other girls were given the responsibility of taking care of
Majik. Unfortunately, for reasons best known to Missy, she
decided not to let her milk down and the kitten looked as
though it wasn't going to survive.
I, of
course became surrogate mum, feeding every two hours, so without
the responsibility Missy started to call again! We popped
her back into the Cattery and I became full Mum. On the 29th
December the Cattery girl doing Majik's section, found he
had died in the night. On examining him our vet was pretty
sure it was a sudden and painless heart attack.
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What a responsibility
- our much loved and beautiful boy had left us a Christmas gift
, his heir, who was not thriving. Three weeks later his kitten
was still alive, but very tiny with a bloated stomach, thin
skin and no fur. Our vet felt he had a liver enzyme deficiency
and held out very little hope for him.
I had
been there before with his grandfather Gr. Ch. Typha Silverwinged
Xplorer who was only one ounce when born, so to me it was
just another challenge that would be overcome. Each week,
on his visits our vet was amazed this Majik kitten was still
alive. At one time I was worried he might be constipated so
took him to the surgery for an X-ray and enema. Our vet very
kindly didn't charge for this visit, probably because he felt
I was on a losing battle, but felt the need to encourage my
optimism. For two weeks he did not vaccinate him for the same
reason, but finally he did. The weeks rolled by and he could
not believe that the bloated stomach had gone, the skin had
thickened and his fur was growing.
IIt the
meantime we had a very lively litter of six Bengal kittens
that were born two days later than he was, but were almost
twice the size. Although he was not vaccinated, we took the
risk and integrated him with them. He was in heaven and it
worked. Actually he was their 'toy' and they all kicked the
hell out of him, but in the gentlest way possible. He just
thrived and muscled up and jumped on them from every angle
having the time of his life. This week our vet has seen him
again. Apart from being small, he now considers him a normal
healthy, naughty, very affectionate kitten, so thank you Majik
for a really special Christmas present. - Little Majik now
weighs 2 lb 10 ounces, but thinks big - probably about 5 lbs
- and is the most adorable kitten you could wish for. Obviously
he won’t be going anywhere. We will keep you posted.
August
2006 update:
| “Little
Majik is now eight months old, weighs 7 lbs and is adored
by everyone. People ask to see him when they visit and
he is always more than happy to lie upside down in their
arms purring. He has a lovely pale even silky chocolate
coat, a far cry from the tiny hairless kitten that used
to scream at me for food. Our vet has even suggested that
he could perhaps lose a little weight! Unless you knew
his story, you would consider him a normal loving Burmese
and that is what he is now. We have even had one person
send us a pedigree hoping to use him at stud! However,
we decided that such a people-oriented boy needed to be
a much loved pet, so when the right home came along we
let him go – very reluctantly – but he had earned
that, surviving all odds. We miss him, but feel we did
the right thing by him and from the enthusiatic reports
we get from his new owners, he is a very spoilt and happy
cat.
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