Okay, here we go. This page is for the four-foots that share our home. First up is Kalliope. She's six years old as of May 1, 2003 (she's a Beltane kitty!) She's the "bitch" cat, somewhat aloof, and somewhat tubby. She tends to find a comfortable spot to sprawl in whatever room I happen to be in, though she's not one for laps or even cuddling nearby, usually. Lately she's taken to perching on the armrest of the couch whenever someone's sitting there, "just to be social-like." Recently she suffered some liver affliction that caused her to loose over 2 lbs. Poor kitty was rail-thin and not really eating. Luckily, however, she responded well to treatment, and is now back to her robust 10+ pounds. We never determined the cause of the problem, and it seems to have fixed itself, at least for the time being.
The 'middle' cat is Seraphim. She's about the same age as my daughter (we estimate her birthday to be right around March 21, which makes her 3 as of 2003), and she's very fuzzy. She's a long haired kitty, grey with white patches. She likes sleeping on the bed and cuddling with the humans. She doesn't really get along with Kalliope (they're just kind of aloof with each other), which is unfortunate because she was originally brought home to be a companion for her. So it's a good thing we've got Logan, which brings me to the third four-footed member of our household.
We named him Logan ("Shall I call you Logan, Weapon X?" "No, Wolverine. Shnickety, shnickety, shnoik") after a character from the X-Men. He's a polydactyl cat; he has thumbs! He's a playful guy who's white and tabby, another shorthair, like Kalliope. He was born sometime around the Fourth of July, 2001, which makes him almost two years old. He's a real lover, of both humans and Seraphim. Good thing they're all fixed!
Recently we acquired two more cats from my dad. See, he's getting married again, and his fiance isn't really a cat person. So dad decided he'd find new homes for his cats. Unfortunately, that proved difficult, and he made the decision to take them to the Human Society. Upon hearing this, and knowing that the Humane Society is not a no-kill shelter, I decided it would be in the best interest of the cats to come to our house. So Simba and Fuzzball came into our house.
Simba was a cat that dad brought home back in 1994, when I was still living at home and going to the community college. She was a fairly solitary cat, and she didn't adjust well to the transistion. After a couple weeks, however, she finally started doing more than just hiding, hissing, and growling. Unfortunately, in April she suddenly became ill. I witnessed two siezures, and she lost all co-ordination. On April 14, 2003 she was euthanized. RIP, Simba.
Fuzzball is just that. Or was, until we shaved her. She was a barn cat, probably at least a half-sister to Seraphim. She was born on March 17, 1999, and I was actually there for it! Dad took her home, and she quickly grew into the monster of a cat she is now. Unlike Seraphim, Fuzzball's fur is prone to matting, and she arrived with several that were simply too severe to comb out. So we employed the assistance of our friend Rachelle, who happens to be a groomer, and promptly shaved her down. She now looks something like a poodle, but she's a very friendly cat and we love having her!
On May 6 we acquired yet another kitty, bringing us back up to a total of 5! Yukizora (Yuki for short, her name means "snow ladened sky" in Japanese) was a kitty we saw running around outside for a while. With the loss of Simba, we decided we had room for one more cat (hey, we managed five once, we can do it again, right?). So we brought her in. She's the sweetest thing, just barely a year old (we think). She's either a traditional (appleheaded) Siamese or a Siamese mix. We took her to the vet and discovered she'd already been spayed, so that saved us some money. She did have worms, however, and of course we had her vaccinated. She's quite a little lover, and she's settling into the household well. The only problem we ever have with her is that she tries to escape out the door if we're not careful. Hopefully time spent inside will eventually break her of that bad habit.
Pics of the kitties: click on any thumbnail for a larger view.
