Jackson the Ragdoll is Not Just Another Pretty Face

When I was younger, I used to say that the only thing better than being beautiful is being smart. And if you can have those two traits combined, then more power to you -- you're lucky. Smart people get ahead, but beautiful people get promoted, and that's just the way life is. If you think looks don't matter and play no role in office politics, in school, in your career or otherwise, then you're probably a homely person.

But what happens if you are truly beautiful and you have no brain?

One of the reasons I am attracted to cats is because they are smart. Like dogs, they are loyal, but unlike dogs, they are incredibly sneaky, manipulative and well, let's just say a cat lost in the woods would never starve to death. Cats are capable of doing the unthinkable. They can open locked doors by staring at them. They don't always use their incredible brains because they don't have to. Many times they are spoiled rotten.

My cats have us wrapped around their little paws. We are at their beck and call and do whatever is asked of us. The cats make their needs known. They are excellent communicators.

Except for Jackson, the ragdoll, who lives with us in Land Park, Sacramento. He spends hours gazing at himself in the mirror. But he doesn't have the lick of common sense given to a gopher. My friend Myrl Jeffcoat calls him a "blonde" for all that entails. I'm beginning to think she is right. His favorite thing to do right now is not drink out of the water fountain like the other cats, but to splash the water all over the ceramic floor and then knock off the top of the fountain, just for the fun of it!

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, Jackson the Flamepoint Ragdoll