I've been a cat lover since I was young, growing up with two cats named Fluffy and KT. They were indoor/outdoor cats which caused me many nervous days and sleepless nights. They were great hunters and, since our neighborhood bordered on a large county park, they would take off sometimes for 2 or 3 days on lengthy adventures in the woods. All well for them; I would worry constantly til they came back home. Hence, my cats since then have been indoor cats. I have enough stress in my life without having to worry about where my cats are, dead or alive, hurt or healthy ...?
Our first cat is Lucy pictured above in her favorite spot, on top of the dryer in the laundry room. She especially loves to sprawl on the dryer while it's doing a load of clothes - her old bones love the warmth. She's 16 years old and in decent health, lives a pretty low-key existence in the laundry room. She'll venture out at night to visit the kids as they watch TV or work on the computer, but as soon as she hears one of the dogs she runs for the safety of the laundry room via the "cat door" that Chris installed years ago. Lucy loves a good scratch behind the ears and under the chin, but whatever you do, DON'T go down her back towards her tail else you'll get a big HISS and a growl out of her.
A number of years later we acquired Kirby (named after the kids video game). How old is Kirby? Mmmm, probably about 10. But she's kept her girlish figure very well, thank you. She's the biggest scaredy-cat of them all, very timid, petite and afraid of ... well, pretty much everything. Believe it or not, I actually paid good money ($20) to take her to a pet psychic a few years ago. We had a "reading" done in which the lady told Kirby that she needn't be so afraid of the dogs and encouraged Kirby to stand her ground with them. And she has gotten better with the dogs - but still lives her life in Kelly's bedroom, or in the laundry room. She slinks in and out of Kelly's room whenever she thinks the coast is clear, and makes a beeline for the basement and into the laundry room. What a sad, sad life! She's even intimidated by our newest cat who seems to take enjoyment in cornering her in Kelly's room. Kirby's favorite thing to do is snuggle with Kelly (see picture above), the closer the better, usually draped around her head in some fashion.
Cat # 3 is Big Fat Beanie. He's about 8 years old, very striped like Lucy and unfortunately is quite obese. He weighs in around 20 lbs. which I know can't be healthy (I think it's genetic!). I'm ashamed to take him to the vet - Dr. Jeff would be sure to give us a lecture about good nutrition for our felines. I don't think he eats any more than the others do, and they're all slim and trim. So what's the deal?? When we first got him we were trying to figure out a good name which always takes DAYS when you have 2 kids with all sorts of ideas (and of course I had my thoughts as well ...) One evening we couldn't locate him anywhere in the house, then discovered he was practically right under our noses snoozing in a pile of Beanie Baby stuffed animals. So that decided it - Beanie Baby it was. He's right at home with the dogs, has never minded them at all because of his laid-back personality, I guess. He hangs out with them all the time so we refer to him sometimes as our "Cat Dog." He does go out on the back deck with them and naps in the sun once in a while, even tries to get out of the yard once in a long while. His favorite pastime is to sleep with Matt, right up close in a big hug. I think Matt uses Beanie like one of those body pillows.... Beanie's portrait was taken out on our deck as he enjoyed the sun one fine fall day.
Two years ago we were introduced to an angry little black kitten who was injured and scared. Our neighbor told us she was mean and nasty, but nonetheless was walking up and down the street with this hissing creature in a cat carrier, trying to find a home for it. Well, as always, we have SUCKER written all over us, so Chris and I agreed to take her to the vet with us the next day since we already had appointments for the 3 dogs to have their check-ups. We got her all set up in one of the dogs crates - food, water, toys - and kept her in the laundry room overnight. Doctor Jeff gave her an x-ray the next morning and found that she had a fractured clavicle (?shoulder? do I have the right word?) and that nothing could be done to fix it, really. Just like when a person has a broken collarbone - you can't put it in a cast, you just have to keep it immobile and let it heal slowly. So that's what we did for this kitten - we tried in vain to find someone to take her, but no luck, kept her in the dog crate for a couple of weeks, tried to minimize her activity (HA!) and let her get better. We never did come up with the perfect name for her so she's remained "Baby Kitty" or most often just BK. She's an undercover kitty - loves to wiggle her way under a bedspread or blanket and sleep all curled up. And she's the only one who loves to play fetch with cat toys. She also hangs out with the dogs, doesn't mind them at all, and she enjoys a good tussle with big fat Beanie once in a while. They groom one another sometimes as cat pals will do but that frequently ends in a wrestling match. So BK is here to stay.
Our mantra now is NO MORE PETS - we've sworn that there will be NO ADDITIONS from here out. We need to enjoy the 7 that we have and realize that we can't save them all. We've done our fair share! Have you??
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