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 ‘Ignorant people think it's the noise whichfighting cats make that is aggravating, butit ain't so; it's the sickening grammarthey use.’Mark Twain________________________________________________________
ONE
‘She was an autumnal lady therefore it was fitting she shoulddepart in the autumn.’ One of Miss Taddy's friends madethe above comment, and it seems a fitting tribute to ourTadikins who had always appeared older than her years,she who in her own special way had brightened our lives,especially mine, during the whole span of her life. Sheearned the name ‘Tad’ because, as a kitten, she was so tiny,much smaller than her sister, who enjoyed the royal nameof Cleopatra. Later it was decided little Tad should receivea name of equal importance — so for important occasionsshe became Miss Tadalinka Rampa; at home she was Taddyor Tadikins.Of course cats are acknowledged to be the possessors of at least three names — one by which they are known to theFamily, the human Family, and to which they will some-times answer, when called, and a second which is decidedupon by the cat person and his cat acquaintances. For thethird title one cannot do better than turn to the poet T. S.Eliot on ‘
The Naming of Cats
’ — where he says — and Iquote a few lines:9
 
‘But above and beyond there’s still one name left overAnd that is the name that you never will guess:The name that no human research can discover —But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will neverconfess.’Although our Taddy often gave one the impression of being 1ethargic, and interested mainly in food, it is my be-lief that she was a very alert Cat Person, and I have it ongood authority, as well as from my own observations, thatshe was extremely telepathic, extremely psychic. Often wecalled her ‘the telephone girl’ because she was so mentallyalert even when apparently lacking in physical energy. Howoften I have mulled over the reason for this creature'sdetermination to become a member of my Family, for de-termined she was, as various episodes proved. Of course itwas worth more than a little effort to get oneself acceptedinto a Family where Lobsang Rampa was the chief mem-ber, and after two or three tries the goal was achieved. But,as with everything worthwhile, it took time.Everything in life takes time, nothing ‘comes easy’ andnow we have to go back about a decade and a half wherethe thread of our tapestry has its beginnings. We had beenliving in Canada for only a very few years, arriving first toWindsor, Ontario, accompanied by two feline ladies wellknown to readers of the Rampa books, Mrs. Fifi Grey-whiskers and Miss Ku'ei. Our stay in that city has beenfairly well documented in my first book,
Pussywillow
, sorepetition is unnecessary. One of our Windsor acquaint-ances expressed astonishment when we happened to men-tion we seriously considered moving to the, then small,town of Fort Erie, on the Niagara river. This man remarked,‘You won't like it there — it is only suitable for tourists.’However, fate, or whoever decides these things decreed that10
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