About Shadeaux

About Shadeaux

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My name is Shadeaux (pronounced "Shad-oh, emphasis on the "oh"). I am a young black domestic shorthair cat and I'm a very big cat for my age, measuring over 21 inches from nose to tush. I have dark emerald eyes and long sweeping whiskers. I was rescued off the streets by my present owner who found out from her vet the sad story I was unable to tell her for myself. The vet told her that according to my microchip I had been adopted when I was a kitten from a local human society. I was the product of some thoughtless humans who allowed their pets to breed indiscriminately and thus I was born with no home to call my own. That's how I ended there. Because I was so cute and young I was quickly adopted by someone who either couldn't or wouldn't keep me. In less than 3 months I found myself abandoned and trying to survive on the streets alone. My present owner tried to contact the people registered to my microchip but they were no longer there. The moral of this story is that if you move to a new location please make sure your pet's microchip registrations are updated in case they get lost. If you have not gotten your pets "chipped" you should consider doing so. It may save your pet's life someday!

To continue my saga, I spent the next 10 months moving around vainly trying to find a human being who would love me enough to take me into their home. I was frequently beaten and injured by neighborhood children and broke off two of my front teeth in the course of my misadventures. One day while I was searching for food and affection I happened upon a sweet caring woman who was feeding the neighborhood ferals. The feral cats in this neighborhood were frightened by my tremendous black body so they didn't put up much of a protest when I moved in on their turf. Seizing upon the opportunity for good steady meals I decided to become friends with this kind woman. It didn't take long for me to work my numerous charms upon her and capture her affections. I found myself looking forward to the times she would come out to feed us because she would often pet and play with me. At first I was greatly frightened by the loud squawking and screaming sounds that came from inside her home but I eventually discovered these sounds were being made by really big birds and not by tortured kittens. I felt so silly when I realized I had been so scared of BIRDS! ::Blushing::

Often when I would arrive for my dinner, I would find her door open so that I could come in for a visit if I felt brave enough. It didn't take much coaxing to get me to come inside. I really loved her home. She had these really soft floors that were covered with some kind of white colored grass she called "carpet". I tried to eat it, but discovered that it doesn't taste good at all! I loved to lay down on her carpets and stretch myself out. They made great scratching pads for my claws. Oh! And there were these fantastic places to hide and things to climb on, it was just so much fun to play inside her house that I found myself coming over to visit more and more often and then staying longer every time I did. One evening I was so occupied with myself that I didn't even notice her closing the door and I ended up spending the night. She allowed me to sleep curled up next to her on this soft warm thing that squished everywhere I stepped on it. She called it a "water-bed" though I still haven't figured out how one sleeps on water without getting wet. From that night on, I have become a loved member of her family. 

You are probably wondering why my new owner decided to bestow upon me the grand name of Shadeaux. Well from what I understand the spelling was a family tradition. For many many years before I was born, the family pet was this sweet canine named Phydeaux (pronounced "Fi-Doh") and Phydeaux gave my owner much happiness and love. However a few  years ago, Phydeaux went to the big doghouse in the sky and left her bereft. So when I became a part of her family she decided to name me in the same fashion. Shadeaux is also a reference to my habit of following her around like a "shadow". Additionally I also like to play with my own shadow and I am as black as a "shadow". So there you have it. My story is my own, but unfortunately it is not a unique one. There are hundreds of thousands of Shadeauxs out there on the street who haven't been as fortunate as I. If you are a pet owner, please be kind enough to have your pet neutered or spayed and microchipped. You have the power to help prevent more Shadeauxs from seeing the inside of an animal shelter or the underside of a car. Please be a responsible pet owner and help prevent animal suffering, hunger and disease by keeping pet dogs and cats off the street and out of animal shelters.

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Last revised: November 13, 2003.
Copyright SugarBane, 2000