I have spent the past few weeks reviewing and updating some blog posts. And in doing so realised I had not yet written about Gingembre (ginger in French). I had written about Lapsong Suchong (Lappy) as she is quite an unusual cat. And also Noisette, my little snuggle killer. But not Gigi.
Gingembre, often shortened to Gigi, is my ginger cat. Hence the name Gingembre, except in French you wouldn’t say ginger cat, you would say chat roux, or red haired cat. The Big G is mother to the other two. And very definitely top cat of the 3, in that she is in charge. No matter how much the other 2 pay no attention to her.
The Centre of Attention
Gigi has always preferred to be centre of attention. If I have guests, she is there to greet them. Unlike the other two who hide. If you are not partial to cats, she is the one who decides your lap is the best place to be.
If she feels I do not give her enough attention, especially when I am away guiding, or she’s simply sick of sharing space with other cats, she will take herself off to hangout at someone else’s place. Making sure she gets the attention she deserves. I’ve had a few times that my neighbours would text me photos of Gigi hanging out there. But guaranteed by the end of the day, she would deign to give her presence once more to me.
A Little History
I have wanted a cat of my own all my life. Various things stopped me, severe allergies growing up, lots and lots of traveling. Luckily the allergies subsided as I got older. And I started settling a little longer in one spot. Sort of. Enough anyway that the opportunity arose to consider a cat.
Actually it was due to a Chateau. Whilst acting as caretaker for a petite chateau, a mouse problem was discovered. Not in the Chateau, but certainly around it. Next door was a farm, with lots of seed. And, well lets say the mice population was ecstatic. The mice propagated and started spilling over into where we lived in the caretakers cottage at the entrance. Next stop would be the Chateau. The solution – a cat. Gosh darn.
Looking for a Kitten
It was decided a kitten was needed due to the other animals on the property. There were rabbits, chickens and ducks. We felt we needed a young cat so it would be able to adapt easier, and grow up amongst them, becoming one of the family. That was the excuse anyway.
Now as a redhead, I had always wanted an orange cat. And I preferred females, for their temperament. So the search was on. And it went on and on and on and on. I did not know that female gingers are rare, only 10% of the ginger population. But that wasn’t what made it difficult. Surprisingly it was the kitten aspect.
Finding Gigi
France is pretty up to speed on sterilising cats. Let’s add in that the surrounding area was nothing but farms, all in need of multiple cats, and on top of that not many people lived in this part of France. Combined together meant that as soon as kittens showed up, they were reserved. I tried every avenue, from shelters to online advertisements. And finally had to widen the search.
An hour and a half away I finally managed to find a kitten. And I had my choice from 4. It was an easy choice, as one of the 4 was a ginger female. How is that for luck? She was reserved at 2 weeks old, and collected at 9 weeks. I had my first cat.
Returning the Love
Now normally I like to write and post here on Mondays, but a dreaded stomach lurgy has had me in its grip. And my writing time was spent curled up asleep in bed. With Gigi looking over me. My protector. She stayed curled into my side for the duration.
This is how I know she was looking after me. She usually won’t sleep unless I am flat on my back and she can lie on my stomach. No way was that happening during la grippe. She actually curled against me, moving but never leaving when I was restless.
It’s been a long time since I was sick around the cats. And I have never been on my own and not able to properly look after them. So a tiny part of my functioning brain was curious as to their behaviour. They all very definitely knew I was not my normal self. They tiptoed around. No meowing, no usual gain attention antics. Bliss.
Quirks of a Ginger
One of Gigi’s current favourite things is to go outside, climb up on to the roof outside my window and paw to come in. It’s terribly cute. This, I am glad to say, morphed from pawing to go out. That began back in December. She woke up from her usual sleeping place in a chair by the window and suddenly started pawing it like mad, wanting, ney needing to get out.
With time she realised that she could always go out. But she obviously decided that pawing at the window was really fun. Instant attention. So now she has reversed it. And sometimes it truly is a game. She’ll paw to come in. Duly be let in, and then run through the house, back outside, only to climb on the roof and be pawing at the window again 2 minutes later. Definitely with a sense of glee. It makes me laugh every time.
Turn up the Volume
Gingembre has had a tough year but she is slowly coming back to herself. She’s typically playful and full of sass. Strong willed and vocal about it. With each passing day in our new home I see her personality re-emerge. The playfulness was the first to return. And the sass is definitely back. She is talking more, but still not up to the demanding level of the past. But each day I hear more. Of course, I will probably rue the day, with a laugh, when she returns to full volume. But still will be glad of it.
Currently all my girls are asleep, whilst I am sat on my napping couch (every house should have one) writing this. Noisette is curled at my feet. Lapsong is sat on my lap purring. And Gigi, she’s curled up on the sofa. So I must be feeling better.
More Cats?
If you are like me and love cats, do go on to read more of my Cat Tails.
And if you enjoy what you read consider nourishing my writings.
Whilst in My Shop, I keep my eyes open for vintage and antique cat items (as well as other animals). Here’s a taste. Simply click on an image to see more:
