THE STORY OF ZEKE
I have a wonderful story to tell, about a Man and his Moose, and the beginning of a
wonderful new place. I think after telling this you (and I!) never would have imagined
that such a cat could impact so many people in his "world". But
enough of me babbling. Here is the story...
Zeke was one of the most important Siamese cats that ever lived.
If you don't believe me, you can ask any of one of our thousands of
Siamese Internet Cat Club members…
Many years ago (1996), a man was sitting in front of his computer in Utah looking at his Siamese cat Zeke,
aka Moose. Zeke had the most original personality and look of any Siamese cat.
He always had something to say to everyone, and was always talking (usually in the
basement where he sounded bigger). He never knew a stranger and there was never anyone
he didn't want to say hello to. He was the "Top Cat" in the house, and ruled with an iron paw.
We called him the "Head Moose". He was far from perfect though. When he misbehaved, as Siamese
are apt to do, we would call him a B ("Bad") Moose. He would then go off muttering to himself
and sulk in the basement, until we broke down and told him he was a G ("Good") Moose.
This man decided this wondrous animal deserved to be immortalized.
He just knew there just had to be others out there like him, totally enamoured by the
best breed of cat there is the Siamese.
So he started the Siamese Internet Cat Club (SICC). This was a Club on the Internet for people that loved their Siamese, or as he called them, Meezers, so this is what he decided to name his Internet site (www.meezer.org).
At first, it was a challenge finding new members. Although there were a lot of people
using computers at work, the Internet was a new and scary concept to a lot of them.
So he would spend his spare time scouring newsgroups, a popular place for people to
hang out on the Internet, looking for people that would mention the word Siamese.
He would then send them an invitation to join his new Siamese world and ask them to
send a picture of their Meezer to be displayed for all of the world to see.
He was hoping they would tell their friends who owned Meezers about this place,
and maybe they would see the Internet was not quite as scary as they thought
if this was just a place for their cats.
Then, all of a sudden, as more people started to gain access to the Internet,
Siamese lovers started to join from all over the world! Members started joining
from all sorts of places. At first, it was mostly the English and Canadians,
but then came Australians, South Africans, Russians & Chileans. He discovered that
there were people just like him, who loved and revered their Siamese, all over the world!
But the members had no way of communicating. All they could do was look at all of the
Siamese pictures that he had made available for viewing. So the Message Board was added.
Now members from all over the world could ask and answer questions about their Siamese,
and get answers back from people all with different nationalities and cultures.
But they all had one thing in common, they all loved their Siamese.
It was then that he decided to dedicate this new Internet Site to
Siamese World Domination, with Zeke serving as its first Imperial Leader.
The subsequent addition of the Chat Room solidified many members' personal relationships.
Unlike many Chat Rooms on the Internet, the Siamese Room only allowed password access to its
members, and then only if they used their real name. This was so everyone would know where
they were from and who their Siamese were. They were there for each other,
in times of joy and sorrow.
They couldn't believe how many 'Siamese People' there were in the world,
who could understand what they had been feeling for years. In the past, when something
happened to their beloved meezer and they were upset, they had no one to talk to.
Now they had someone to share their love of the Siamese with.
But then, the most long-lasting contribution to the Siamese community occurred.
If they had so many people involved in loving their Siamese, why couldn't they
help save the ones that no one wanted? Someone had to want them.
Siri in Virginia and Charisse in Kansas had thought of this idea, and were already
running Siamese Rescue operations saving Siamese from shelters and homes that were unfit.
But they couldn't always find homes for all of their 'Discarded Siamese', and they knew
they couldn't keep all of them, but they just couldn't stand to turn them away.
After feeling overwhelmed, they decided to look toward the Internet.
It was then they found the SICC, and it was a perfect solution for both the Siamese Rescue
and the SICC membership. There were people here that could assist them.
They had found a home, with a lot of caring people.
And..
Maybe the members of the SICC could help deliver some of the Rescued Siamese to new homes!
Would it be possible be arrange for the transport of the Siamese Rescues across country,
using a network of people organized to transport a portion of the distance through
their individual states? Well of course it could, and thus the Siamese Rescue Express was born.
With member's help, so far four Siamese have been transported to wonderful new homes
from the two Siamese Rescue Centers, with many more to be transported in the future.
Our members are now assisting in saving lives of Siamese from all over the US. They feel
honored to be helping in something that is possible as a group effort, but could never
have been done individually.
And if not for Zeke, I would not have had the privilege of knowing this man, who was my husband for 3 years.
If not for Zeke, none of this would have happened. That one Siamese cat made such a
difference in so many people's lives is just phenomenal.
Who would have thought...