Tiko: Feb 2, 1987-July 2, 2006

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Tiko was one of a kind. He was a Tonkinese and he was all attitude. It always seemed like the only thing he actually had any respect for was Gizmo; we are reasonably certain he was bitten more then once given the wide berth he’d give Giz’

When we moved to Vancouver I’d never been without a cat. It was a hard sell because Kirk was not a cat person. A former employer had moved to Vancouver a year or two ahead of us and their cat was having kittens. They’d told us that they were to be sold for a hefty price because of their purebred status, so I didn’t think it was a possibility.

But one day, while I was looking through the classified ads in the Vancouver Sun while on a break between my classes at VVI, I saw an ad that reads “Tonkinese x Seal Point Siamese kittens $50.”

Tonkinese don’t breed true, they are generally outcrossed and a litter of four will typically yield one Burmese, one Seal Point Siamese, and two Tonkinese kittens.

But $50?

I looked up the phone number and sure enough, it was Brian and Ricki.

So I called and asked…they said that the male that they’d bred their Tonk to turned out to have no papers so they couldn’t register the kittens. I asked if they had a little boy and they said yes….I said we’d be by to visit that evening.

Kirk and I walked down the street to their apartment building, ostensibly to visit and, when we walked in, I said “Oh, look at the kittens!”.

Kirk was like “Yeah….cute….”

And I pointed at one and said…”he’s ours…”

Kirk was unimpressed, but by the time we walked home with that little blue eyed bundle of cuteness….he was lost. And Tiko largely became his cat.

He was with us for an incredible 19 years.

Here, he is helping me write my Master’s thesis 🙂