"The Cat who thinks he's a Dog."

This is the latest addition to our family of pets. Last fall Joyce was out in the field settling a claim when she was offered a "precious little kitty." She called me at the shop and asked me if I wanted a "shop kitty" or "mascot." I didn't think so. I could just picture a cats paw prints all over signs that would be drying in the shop. "Honey, you just have to see him!" I think I just said something like; "well, whatever you think babe." At the end of the day Joyce and the new "shop kitty" came through the door. I was slightly taken back for a moment, until I realized this animal does not possess the same characteristics of any normal cat. (Then again, who's ever heard of a normal cat?) She explained that she aquired him at her first appointment, and that he had ridden all day in the car with her without making any sound or disturbing her. Could that have anything to do with his having been raised by dogs? When I say that I don't mean anything compared to the old adage, "raised by a pack of wolves." This kitty has the temperment of a hound dog. Joyce said he was raised from birth alongside a couple of farm hounds. He responds to me whitsling for him or when we call him by name. He will ride on the passenger door arm rest in the van or the console in the truck and watch intently where we go without a complaint. Often he lays on the back porch or floor with his head on his paws like a dog. He is the only cat that we have that comes in from being in the yard with "cockle-burs." I didn't realize we even had any of those in the yard. He's very patient about letting us remove them from him. Probably the most unusual characteristic about this kitten is that he has no aversion to taking a bath. How on earth did I ever discover this? One evening Joyce and I were in the kitchen and I saw what appeared to be a stray charcoal gray cat on the service steps to the second floor. "How did that stray cat get in here!?" I blurted. "That is YOUR cat Thom!" Due to the fact that we've been doing some renovating we have taken out the lathe and plaster from the stairway which provided great access for the new kitty to explore between the floor joists and coat himself with 100 year old coal dust. He had now gone from a white cat to charcoal gray with a white face. I hated to picture him having to lick all of that soot off of himself so thus his first bath. Although a little apprehensive at first, overall he was receptive to it. Now the problem is whenever we are in the tub he will lean over the edge and many times springs on his back legs as if he is going to jump in. (Especially if there are any bubbles.)He is almost pure white, except for the tips of his ears and tail which are dull orange. His eyes are a very light bright blue, which is what I think attracted Joyce the most to him. I guess he is considered a peach-point, somewhere in his lineage is a siamese from what I understand. In reality he is just a mutt. So what was the appropriate name for this kitty? Snowball? Fluffy? Bubbles? We thought not. Nothing could describe him better in one word than "Puppy." (Ofcourse on rare occassions when he is in trouble it's just "PUP!"