Hello, and apologies to Jerry and the rest of the Grateful Dead for stealing their song title.
I came across this website by accident while searching for a totally non-cat related subject. At the time, I bookmarked it and forgot all about it. Recently, I ran across the bookmark and decided to stop in and say "Hi." I've got 4 cats, Thufir (9), Tiny (10), Tre (12), and Promise (4). I also refer to them sometimes as the 4 F's: Fluffy, Furry, Fuzzy, and Funky (that last one is for Promise, who wasn't so great at cleaning herself when she was a little kitten). Right now I'm trying to finish up a PhD, I work at a lab doing research 20-30 hours a week, and I travel 2-3 weeks a year, so I've got about all the kitties I can handle. I've toyed with the idea of volunteering with one of the local rescue groups, but I have a feeling it would be hard to resist all the sad kitties. So for now, I'll just stick to an occasional monetary donation when I have the funds. If you want to hear about how I got each of my kitties, read on. In any event, I've posted up some pics of my kitties on my Picasa web account here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Grogs123...eat=directlink
I had a few cats growing up, but I wasn't able to have one in college or while single in the army. During my last year or so in the service I had a live-in girlfriend with a cat, so I decided to get my own to keep her cat company while we were both gone. That's when I got Tiny, a half-Siamese / half-tabby mix. Today, she's nearly 10 years old, lives up to her name in the ironic sense, and almost completely hides her Siamese heritage behind a gray and black tabby coat.
After a couple of years, I broke up with my girlfriend and we each took our respective cat. It was a pretty amicable separation, so she offered me one of her sister's cats 'to keep Tiny company.' And that's how I got Thufir. He was very skinny and worm-infested when I got him, but I've managed to fatten him up nicely and today he's a big, beautiful cream-colored domestic long hair. He's the most affectionate cat I've ever known and he always wants to be picked up and held like a baby. He also climbs under the covers with me and licks my face to wake me up in the mornings. He's had a couple of health problems, including a urinary tract infection which completely blocked up him up and a pretty bad upper respiratory infection. He's 9 years old now, and although he's on the special cat food he remains quite healthy and athletic.
Tre came along about 2 years later. I had a friend in the Air Force reserve who was being deployed to Iraq, so I agreed to take in her kitty. Tre is a medium hair orange and white tabby, although you can only see the stripes on his tail and his head. From the records I was given with him, my friend got Tre from her friend, who had in turn gotten him from the shelter. That means I'm at least his 4th owner, not counting the shelter. The paperwork also suggested he was born in '96, which would make him 12. That number is based off of the shelter's estimate that he was 5 in 2001 though, so I think he could be anywhere between about 10-14. Tre is extremely laid back and also very loyal. He gets on the bed with me every night, even in the middle of July when none of the other cats want to be near my body heat. He's beginning to show the first signs of aging.
He walks with a slight limp and has trouble getting up and down from the cat tree. I've just started him on some joint support medication, so I'm hoping that will make him feel better.
Lastly, there's Promise. Shortly after I moved into my current apartment, I heard a mewling in the alley by the trash cans. When I looked, there was a lone, very tiny, tuxedo kitten. I took her in and the vet estimated she was 4-5 weeks old. Despite her age, she was already able to eat solid food and use the litter box (although her aim wasn't very good yet). I intended to adopt her out, but by the time she was old enough I was too attached. I was off almost that entire Summer studying and getting ready to go back to grad school. As a result, Promise grew up in my lap and I'm very attached. She's 4-1/2 now, but she's a very small and dainty cat.
That's all I can think of for now. Thanks for reading this far.
~ Grogs
http://picasaweb.google.com/Grogs123...eat=directlink
I had a few cats growing up, but I wasn't able to have one in college or while single in the army. During my last year or so in the service I had a live-in girlfriend with a cat, so I decided to get my own to keep her cat company while we were both gone. That's when I got Tiny, a half-Siamese / half-tabby mix. Today, she's nearly 10 years old, lives up to her name in the ironic sense, and almost completely hides her Siamese heritage behind a gray and black tabby coat.
After a couple of years, I broke up with my girlfriend and we each took our respective cat. It was a pretty amicable separation, so she offered me one of her sister's cats 'to keep Tiny company.' And that's how I got Thufir. He was very skinny and worm-infested when I got him, but I've managed to fatten him up nicely and today he's a big, beautiful cream-colored domestic long hair. He's the most affectionate cat I've ever known and he always wants to be picked up and held like a baby. He also climbs under the covers with me and licks my face to wake me up in the mornings. He's had a couple of health problems, including a urinary tract infection which completely blocked up him up and a pretty bad upper respiratory infection. He's 9 years old now, and although he's on the special cat food he remains quite healthy and athletic.
Tre came along about 2 years later. I had a friend in the Air Force reserve who was being deployed to Iraq, so I agreed to take in her kitty. Tre is a medium hair orange and white tabby, although you can only see the stripes on his tail and his head. From the records I was given with him, my friend got Tre from her friend, who had in turn gotten him from the shelter. That means I'm at least his 4th owner, not counting the shelter. The paperwork also suggested he was born in '96, which would make him 12. That number is based off of the shelter's estimate that he was 5 in 2001 though, so I think he could be anywhere between about 10-14. Tre is extremely laid back and also very loyal. He gets on the bed with me every night, even in the middle of July when none of the other cats want to be near my body heat. He's beginning to show the first signs of aging.
Lastly, there's Promise. Shortly after I moved into my current apartment, I heard a mewling in the alley by the trash cans. When I looked, there was a lone, very tiny, tuxedo kitten. I took her in and the vet estimated she was 4-5 weeks old. Despite her age, she was already able to eat solid food and use the litter box (although her aim wasn't very good yet). I intended to adopt her out, but by the time she was old enough I was too attached. I was off almost that entire Summer studying and getting ready to go back to grad school. As a result, Promise grew up in my lap and I'm very attached. She's 4-1/2 now, but she's a very small and dainty cat.
That's all I can think of for now. Thanks for reading this far.
~ Grogs
