Jasmine Dee came into my life about twelve years ago. I bought her from a breeder of Maine Coons, and I was in the market for a very special cat. I had a Maine Coon Cat when I was a child, which my family purchased in Rangeley, Maine during a summer vacation. Her name was Desdemona and I loved her with all the passion of a child’s heart. She was hit by a car about a year later, and I always lived in the shadow of wanting another chance with another Maine Coon. And then it came and I took it (bought it, I should say), and the rest is sort of family history.
All Maine coons are tabbies but they come in many colors; orange, blue, gray, silver and tortoise, which is the most common combination. Although all the colors are beautiful, I wanted a tortoise-colored female because that’s what Desdemona was, and in my heart, I was replacing her. Or so I thought.
But Jasmine Dee has made her own place in my heart with her sweet disposition and loving (sometimes too loving) ways. She is a big girl, about twelve pounds, but that is typical for a Maine Coon. (Some of the males reach twenty pounds). They are bred to live in the snowy wilds of Maine, and as such have thick bushy tails and almost “webbed” feet. Their paws are extra padded, (as if they were born with their own pair of galoshes), to make it easier to tread in the heavy snow. Although a variant of the Persian, they are a distinct breed all their own. Their origins are shrouded in mystery, which makes them all the more fascinating to behold and love. I love all of my cats, but Jasmine Dee, well…my she’s my “Maine” delight!