Robles turned two years old this December. She came to live with me back in April of 2012. She arrived just a little over a week after her great great great great Grandmother Cheetah passed away. The timing was a sad coincidence. Plans for Robles’s arrival were made months earlier. I had no idea that Cheetah was going to pass away just days before I got Robles. I would have liked for the two of them to meet since they are related and to see how they reacted to each other.
Sunwapta, Cheetah’s son, did get to meet Robles. I guess that makes them half brother and sister some how, spanning across several generations. Robles and Sunwapta bonded immediately. They must have known they were related. I often found them curled up together. Several months after Robles came to live here, Sunwapta got sick, and a few months later he passed away. At least Robles got to spend some time with him.
When I look at the back of the head and neck of Robles, I see the identical stripes and markings that I saw on Cheetah and Sunwapta. She definitely shares genes with them. Every time I see the markings on the back of Robles’s head and neck, I think of Cheetah and Sunwapta. Although Cheetah and Sunwapta are gone now, their legacy and spirit continue on through Robles. I am so fortunate to have her here.
I took a similar photo of Sunwapta years ago in the same place as this photo of Robles. I tried to recreate that photograph of Sunwapta. That photo of Sunwapta is perhaps my favorite photo of all time and can been seen on an older post on this blog. This photo did not come out as good as the one of Sunwapta, but I like the profile of her.
Robles has become quite a bit more affectionate since I retired. She often follows me around the house, brushing up against my legs, and often sleeps next to me in the bed now. When I lay on the sofa, she usually takes up a position on the top of the center cushion of the sofa, and lately she has even come down off her perch and lays on my legs. She really is turning into a beautiful cat.