Meet Shiva. His unusual name was bestowed upon him by our daughter, Nicole, when she was studying marketing and design at the University of Florida (GO GATORS!). It was during the summer in which she was completing an internship with the St. Petersburg Times in St. Petersburg, FL. We helped Niki move into her new apartment: One bedroom with a sectioned off kitchen area and a tiny, tiny bathroom. Jim and I were visiting over the 4th of July helping her with the move. It was hot, ohso HOT! Anyway, back to Shiva…
Jim and Shiva bonded immediately. They were like two-peas-in-a-pod around the apartment. When we went outside to grill, of course, Shiva had to stay inside and was not a happy cat. To make a long story short Shiva did not stay very long in Niki’s apartment. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Needless to say, he made the trip back with us to our home at the time in Panama City, FL.
Shiva was regal and we often called him Mr. Handsome. He was a great cat and loved chasing the Labrador across the street out of our yard. It was a big lab, too! Go, Shiva!
The series of photos being shared today comprise one of Shiva’s favorite pastimes: giving daddy human’s head a bath! As you look at the photos, you will notice the almost exact hair color. Each photo is numbered for sequencing and has a caption to carry you through the bathing process.
For your enjoyment, meet Shiva, aka Mr. Handsome:
“I gave my cat a bath the other day…[cats] love it. He sat there, he enjoyed it, it was fun for me. The fur would stick to my tongue, but other than that…” ― Steve Martin
catnipoflife 
A cat that gives head massages – I could live with that – says the non-cat person 😉
So nice when a pet & human bond so lovingly!
Not too bad, except for the claws! It was so funny watching Shiva and he did not want Jim to move. We got a little video but it is on an old camcorder. Not sure if can be transferred to DVD.
[…] "Meet Shiva. His unusual name was bestowed upon him by our daughter, Nicole, when she was studying marketing and design at the University of Florida (GO GATORS!). It was during the summer in which she was completing an internship with the St. Petersburg Times in St. Petersburg, FL. We helped Niki move into her new apartment: One bedroom with a sectioned off kitchen area and a tiny, tiny bathroom. Jim and I were visiting over the 4th of July helping her with the move. It was hot, ohso HOT! Anyway, back to Shiva…." […]
Shiva looks just like my cat Koki, but she’s a girl.
Hi, Sunni! Good to ‘see’ you! Shiva was such a handsome cat and a wonderful companion. He is still missed after many years. 😦
Shiva …. doesn’t bring death and destruction, right?
In a way, the translation fits. When Niki named him, all she told me was it was the name of a god. Shiva was a hunter all the time bringing surprises into the house to show off his kill. Sometimes he would bring in the bird and ‘finish it off’ so to speak in the house. Did leave quite a mess for us humans to clean up.
Lovely photos. I can see that Shiva was a valued member of your family. No wonder you miss him.
Love Mr. Handsome! They have so much personality that it’s like losing a member of the family, not just an animal. That bond between cat and human is something very special!
Wonderful pics about a great cat. Cats are unique in so many ways. I was dog sitting my daughter’s boxer, Hunter, who was dying of cancer this past Friday and Toby,my handsome tomcat knew instantly that the dog was sick and stayed near him, kissing and rubbing against him. Normally a strange dog in the house would have sent him flying off to perch on something high up. But he knew and was right. Hunter died the next day.
This is so cute. I smiled through the entire album!
Cherie used to give me tiny paw-massages. *grin*
Now surprisingly Jake took over. But of course HIS are deep tissue massages. *grin*
But so far none of my cats has showered me. LOL
This is beautiful mom! For clarification, Shiva is a Hindu God known as the God of Destruction. In Hinduism, he is considered the soul of the universe and the Destroyer of all Evil. He is called the God of Destruction because he destroys all illusion and imperfection that exists in the world in order to pave the way for beneficial change. According to belief, this destruction is not arbitraty, but constructive.
Either way, it’s still a cool name with a cool backstory for a very cool cat 🙂
Love you mom!