Thursday, November 19, 2009

Luna


Luna is a companion to Buidhe. She is very sweet and loves a snuggle on the front steps. She doesn't like the dogs, so she and Buidhe live up front in a rabbit hutch, although it is open all the time so they can come and go as they please.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Wicked



Wicked started out being named Wicket, but she was a very mischievous kitten, so her named changed. She was another feral kitten and we caught her fairly late, so she's never quite got rid of her wildness. She comes to the front steps to eat every night, and if I'm out there, she will let me hold her and cuddle her while she drools all over me, but then she's gone again.

Buidhe (pronounced Boo-ya)



Buidhe was found as a tiny kitten, sleeping on the tire of a parked car in a shopping center parking lot. He looked pretty sick, so we took him to the vet. He was very dehydrated and had a respiratory infection. He healed up very well, but the infection left him with a purr that sounds like rusty machinery. Years later, his eye hemorrhaged which left it dark brown. We call it his evil eye. His name means yellow in Gaelic.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Basia


Basia is the matriarch of the Cat House. She has the uncanny habit of staring at the dogs until they get so nervous that they leave their bed, and then Basia moves in and lays down on their huge bed.

Beeswing




Beeswing was a bottle baby. I had 4 baby kittens, with eyes barely open, that we took away from feral mothers. I kept the kittens in a baasket and took them everywhere with me because they had to be fed every few hours with a little baby bottle. So they went to work with me every day, and went visiting with me, and even went to a day-long symposium in Portland. I sat at the back of the room and when they got restless, would take into the restroom and feed them. During one feeding, our key speaker came in and was quite smitten with them. 6 years later, I was at a gardening gala and was seated at the same table as the speaker from the symposium. I hadn't seen her for 6 years, but after staring at me for a few moments, she blurted "Oh my God! You're the kitten woman!" It's funny what we remember.
Beeswing was an ugly duckling. She was a scrawney, dull coated little thing and no one would take her, so I decided to keep her. As she grew, we realized that she had extra thumbs that were pretty long. When she walks, it looks like she's walking on stiletto heels. She also has a silver undercoat, and when she bends her elbow, the undercoat shows and looks like angel wings.

Foos




Foos is one of the goofiest cats I've ever had. He has some rag doll in him so when we pick him up, he goes completely limp. He has slightly crossed eyes and loads of personality.

Visa




Visa and Foos are brother and sister. When they were very little, before we had named them, my husband accidentally closed her in the front door. She was limping badly and we were quite worried that she may have a broken hip, so we ran her to the emergency vet. Being between paydays, we had to pay for her treatment with the credit card. When they asked me what her name was, I looked at the credit card and said "I guess her name is Visa". By the way, she was just fine and running around like a wild child an hour later.

Arachne




Arachne was a stray kitten that followed me down the street when my friend, Molly and I went for a walk. When we couldn't find an owner, I decided to take her home with me. When she was about a year old she was hit by a car which caused a hole in her lung and stripped flesh off of her hind legs. She healed up just fine, but now she has rheumatism in her hind legs and the cold makes them painful, so she gets the priviledge of sleeping with us at night. She falls asleep on our bed and then wakes up in the middle of the night and wanders off to her own bed in the closet.

Fido (rhymes with speedo)





Fido was one of my bottle babies and he's also my nap buddy. He can speak and has a 2 word vocabulary. He says "Mom" and "Nap". Honest to God. When we take a nap together, he lies next to me and pats me on the cheek. I'm his mommy and he adores me.