Photo by Kjeld Krogh

 

An old Warrior is Dead...

by Judith Zuurveld (translated by Jens Jensen from "Huldrekatten nr. 3, 1993".

Gustav's life ended on 3 September 1993.

He was of noble birth, and his full name was EC, Colosseums Gustav Graah, DM - but those who knew him will agree that he didn't care one bit about titles and blue blood. Genuine kings never do...

Gustav was born on 3 May 1981 in a suburb of Oslo in Norway. The breed name Colosseum never produced large numbers of kittens, and only a few of them found their way to continental Europe. Those who did, however, were really magnificent and were highly influential in the early development of this new breed of cats. Gustav came to Denmark in the autumn of 1981 together with his owner, Einar Leer Nordbø.

I wonder how many of the readers were active in the cat fancy, when Gustav's career as a show cat came to an end. I certainly wasn't - the first time I saw a Felis Jubatus cat was in 1987, at the summer show in Hamm in Germany. My first impression was an astounded judge, Ulrike Müller, who made eye contact with a gigantic and marvelous male, a white and odd-eyed Youngster. All she managed to say at first was: "...ist dies tatsächlich ein Jungtier...?" (is that really a youngster?). Needless to say, of course, that this giant was Best in Show. His name was Gustav Wied Felis Jubatus, son of Gustav Graah, and I was head over heels in love like never before (with a cat, that is).

During the following years I was under the impression that Gustav Wied's qualities originated from his mother, the EC Flatland's Avedine, DM, who was still a show cat at the time. It was not until I had studied more offspring from this combination and had met their father at home, that I understood how much of the savageness and the powerful and energetic looks that originated from Gustav Graah. I have spent hours in front of the cat run, watching him and trying to catch his magic. Most of the time he ignored me.

In accordance with his own desires Gustav lived life to the full, dangerously but rewardingly. In his younger days he conquered his entire village and went AWOL for days on end. At a riper age he was reluctantly confined to ruling the cat run. But still he watched his territory vigilantly for 24 hours a day and directed all activity in the garden with loud miaus and feint attacks.

The last six months Gustav had to put up with some arthritis, and he suffered from a minor infection of the airways, for which there was no really effective therapy. The time had come to let him rest in peace. A great cat is dead...

I loved that damned cat so much!

Judith Zuurveld
Bergansius Norske Skovkatte
Rotterdam, Holland