The Long and Mysterious Lives of Cream Puff Beatty (alias Boris Cole)



Don't worry! He's still with us. Still yelling for his supper and climbing up our shoulders. Just a lot more frail and bony than years past.

BUT...I have a great story to tell about the old infamous scoundrel.
A lovely local woman named Patsy Cole sometimes reads my blog. For better frame of reference she is the creative soul who threw this gorgeous wedding with all its vintage and earthy details back in May.
Anyway, Patsy saw this post back in September and immediately made a startling connection.




Over ten years ago, her family had lost their beloved cat Boris when they moved to Placerville from a place further out in the country. They figured he hated "town life" and had run away, and they sorely grieved his loss. He had been king of their roost and their three daughters loved him very much.
When Patsy saw my post, she wondered if our "C.P" might indeed be their cat Boris?! My parents' house, where he showed up, was less than 1/2 mile from the house they had moved into. 


We arranged for Patsy and her youngest daughter Cecelia to come meet him in the flesh. I warned him that he is veerrrry old, bony, and withering. But naturally, if he was indeed their long lost cat, they at least wanted to see him one last time.

Meanwhile, Patsy's oldest daughter emailed me old pictures of her "Boris," check them out:

My heart jumped. Especially the bottom one, the kohl eyeliner round his eyes, the stripes, the shape of his nose. It looked like him to me! The mouth looked a little funky, and in the top one his color was darker, but I remembered him being darker years ago anyway. And the thing with his mouth could be easily explained: he probably had a developing problem with his gums and teeth. Months on the run would have exacerbated the problem and by the time he showed up at my folks' house, he had rotten teeth and the vet had to remove them all except one. He has always been our snaggle tooth :) and has to eat only wet food. All those years ago, we wondered how old he was and the vet told us "this cat has major age." A quote that has gone down in history in our family. Everyone knows that Cream Puff is ageless and eternal.


Well these beautiful ladies may have just solved the mystery.
Patsy's husband Dave found Boris at the tennis courts at the local high school back in 1988 and he was just under a year old. That puts him at about 11 or 12 years old by the time he ran away from their new house in town in early 2000. After much discussion with my mom and siblings we figured out that Cream Puff probably showed up in late 2000 or early 2001. That makes him about 24 right now!



Here he is with Darin waaaay back in 2001. Darin always loved the guy.

As with my momma. Mom and Darin were CP's two best friends. Around that time his breath was so bad as he recovered from the rotten teeth, he was very demanding of attention and also, he drooled. The drool would land on things, make your shirt smell bad, and we liked to joke that it sizzled and burned a hole through anything it touched.

So Darin and I became his proud and loving adoptive caretakers.

He has lived with us in many different places. 
From Sebastopol to our first house in Placerville on Goyan Street, to our house out in the country in Pleasant Valley. He must have got running wild out of his system, because he has always stayed right by our sides.


Fattening up for the winter.

It was really fun talking to Patsy and Cecelia about the life that he has had since he came to us. I told them that he has been a favorite of all our friends who come visit, that he loves people and being in the center of the action, preferably on a warm lap.

he has no qualms about insisting upon friendship with all our visitors!


  Loves being in photo shoots:





and although he has gotten grumpy toward little kids and other cats and has left many a scar in his day, he is really just generally a lovable old guy with a lot of pizzazz, the best meow on earth, and a huge handsome strong heart.

It was hard to tell for sure 100% if our CP is their Boris, but delving into the mystery was fun and touching. So I am just going to think so.
We wondered where he went while he was alone out in the world. They wanted to know how he was when he first showed up (bedraggled and hungry but loving) and all about the vet trips and the other cats we have had along with him. They are total cat people so it was fun talking about all the nitty gritty details of our cats lives and deaths and  habits and adventures.

We are going to keep in touch.
The name Boris fits and has immediately become his new nickname. 
And meanwhile CP has some new (old?!) family in his old age, 
and seems happy to be having his 15 minutes of fame.
Around these parts, he's a star!

Comments

Katie said…
lovely tale. tail! :) x
how cool is that? i'm not much for cats, but that is just the neatest story. the one cat i ever loved was my mom's cat. she had her before she had me or my sister or even my dad. she was a siamese persian mix and looked like a kitten till the day she passed away at 23 years old. i miss that old broad. thanks for sharing this story!
Anonymous said…
When I read the dates, I was like, HOLY SHIT! Cream Puff's older than I am! Wowza, what a crazy, wonderful story. For 24 years old, Heather, C.P. looks AMAZING. In the most recent photos, I thought he was maybe 15, tops. You guys taken wonderful care of him.

What a story...!
Nichole said…
ha! a new version of an old elementary school song! "the cat came back, ten or so years later and was discovered via blog post. oh, the cat came back, ten or so years later..."
Heather, I loved this blog about Cream Puff!!! He is most definitely Boris. He looks exactly like the pictures, especially when you compare the old shots with me and Darin. I can't believe how many pics you have of the old guy! What a character he is, he has brought a lot of love to our lives. Thanks for posting this incredible story honey. I'm writing this from Red Rock Bakery and Cafe in Moab Utah!! Hiked out to Delicate (long hike) and Tower Arches yesterday (even longer and harder hike!) It was hard but awesomely inspiring. Moab is so fun, we ate at the Moab brewery last night. Thanks so much for taking good care of my Nettie. Our other old character! I love you so much honey, Momma
Elizabeth said…
You are a true friend to Cp, He has had a lucky lucky time coming across all these loving hearts. This is such a sweet story, Thanks xx
Unknown said…
That is so funny!! The pictures really do look like him, I think it probably is him! He is such a character. My senior kitty sends her regards ;)
Andrea said…
oh my goodness :) you know i love this story, reminds me of my little man who it seems lived many wonderful lives. It gave me goosebumps and made me want to cry all at the same time. I think its wonderful that you've had little Boris (CP) all these years and that there are so many others out there that his live has touched. Animals are so mysterious in that way. They hold so much history in their tiny, little, "snaggle toothed" bones :) Wish I could meet the little man in person. You'll have to let him know his fandom reaches the farthest corners of the continental US of A. :)
Missa said…
Cream Puff is older than Sara, Ha! Aw, Cream Puff, what a crazy and wonderful story! I adored my lap time with him so: http://violetfolklore.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC_0247.jpg

I love the two photos I got of him that golden morning at your house too:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23821209@N06/5529783426/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23821209@N06/5529783514/in/photostream/

24, WOW! What a special kitty :)
MISSA! Those are wonderful! I remembered that some of you ladies had pictures with him, but in my own files I only had the one with Charlie :) Such a goofy, insistent, wonderful, weird, lovable little soul he is. I am so glad you guys all got to meet him. And these pictures make me LONG for another slumber party. Man I can hardly believe that was real, what a dream we had.
Cel said…
Holy crow, if he's really that old, he's older than I am! Elder Kitteh!
Teeny said…
What a mystery! I have to say i reckon he is a very close likeness. And it's fitting that C.P. should have such a long rich history. What a cutie. I do like cats, I do, I do. Can't wait to meet yours huh! xx
Unknown said…
what a great story!! btw...love the name of your blog/shop...off to check out your etsy shop! :)
Milla said…
Cat-a-log! Damn girl, your cat stories totally rock! And of course it figures that CP (who shares his initials with my hub ;) would have multiple lives even in one of his nine. I honestly think of him fondly quite often. He had such a presence. Many happy returns to him.
ps. did you know that the world's oldest cat is currently 27? Cream Puff will totally beat that cat's ass!
Amy Beatty said…
creamy. man he has lived the life. I love the old pictures of him xoxo you and darin really saved his life.
Astral said…
I does not like cat.

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