New Too

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I'm mother to six cats, two dogs, three rabbits, and a passel of goldfish.

A little bit about my kitties. This may get long

Athena is my oldest. She turned five in January. When she was just under a year old she was found locked in our next door neighbor's apartment. They had moved out a week before, and when the maintanance people went in to clean the apartment for new tenants, they found twelve cats locked and starving inside, and another seven or so locked in the storage shed on the patio. When they opened the doors, most of the cats ran out and hid in the nearby woods. We fed several of them but they were semi-feral and afraid of people. One in particular we were worried about, a little torbie female who was nothing but skin and bones, and so terrified she would not come but a foot out of the woods if she thought any people were around. She had a buddy, a russian blue who was also part of the group that had been trapped in the apartment. He was extremely friendly and in much better shape, but he stuck by her side most of the time and watched out for her. He even tried to carry her food.

The apartment complex had called the humane society, and they were humanely trapping many of these cats. Others had found their way into various homes in the complex by good samaritans, but the starving female was never caught, nor was her russian blue companion.

Then one day, when my mother and I got home from shopping, we found my two younger sisters had not only managed to catch the friendly russian blue and the little starving female, but had managed to bathe them both as well. Apparently the little girl was pretty filthy. Mother wasn't sure about keeping them, but I told her that I'd be financially responsible for them and they would be my cats. When she saw the state of the little female, she agreed.

The russian blue, who we named Church (he looked just like the cat in Pet Semetary), took to everyone immediately. The little female, who I named Athena, was terrified of everyone and hid all the time. When you did manage to get hold of her she would go utterly limp and just hang in your arms until you let her go. I took them to the vet. Church was in good shape, but Athena (who, by now, was around a year old) weighed only five pounds, was crawling with fleas, and had a bad case of ear mites. We got her cleaned up and got rid of the parasites, and fortunately both cats came out Feline Leukemia negative. As time went on, Athena became very friendly toward me and the other members of the family, but hid upon sight of any strangers.

Because she was an unexpected addition and because I had spent most of my meager savings getting her healthy again, we did not have enough to get either cat fixed right away. Of course, she went into heat and we seperated her from Church, but he went insane yowling and driving everyone nuts. We took to putting him outside while we saved up to get her fixed. Unfortunately, the night before she was to go into surgery we put him outside one last time and never saw him again. We still don't know what happened to him, and his loss is one of the reasons all my cats are indoor only.

Turns out it didn't matter. When the vet did the surgery, Athena was a week pregnant. He called me up to tell me and see what I wanted to do. Because reclosing her and continuing the pregnancy at this point increased the danger to her and the chance of a miscarriage, and because I was more than aware of the work a litter of kittens was (we had had two other strays over the last two years adopt us right before giving birth. We spayed them both after weaning the litter, found homes for the kittens, and both vanished again) I opted to let him continue with the spay.

She recovered fine and ruled the roost until my mother remarried. Her new husband brought with him his two cats, one of which utterly hated anything else feline and went after Athena with a vengeance. She refused to leave my room and a lot of her fear returned. I finally moved out on my own, and wanted to get a second cat. Athena, thanks to the bully cat, was terrified of grown cats but still loved kittens...or so I thought. She had snuggled up to one that my stepfather babysat for a day or so for a friend of his. So I figured I'd get a small kitten from the shelter so that she could bond with it and have a companion. So I went to the rescue, and the only kitten they had was a silver male tabby who was about four months old...and so not that tiny. I talked with the rescue about my situation and they sent me home with the kitten on a trial basis, to see how he and my cat got along.

I named him Poseidan, and let's just say, things did not go swimmingly. More later!

Welcome!

I can't wait to hear the rest!

Yes, she was pregnant with Church's babies. She was not allowed out of the house at all and he was the only male with any sort of access to her. My sisters kept forgetting she was in heat and leaving doors open. However she did not have the babies. I opted to let the vet spay her instead of letting them be born. I may have been confusing about that . I was very upset and still feel guilt over not letting them be born but I also know how many unwanted cats there are in the world, and I didn't want to endanger her health.

Anyway, a bit of a rewind. Athena's best friend was our old labrador, Garth. She absolutely adored him and they could often be found curled up together in my room. Unfortunately, Garth was diagnosed with a brain tumor and two months later, suffered massive seizures and had to be euthanized. During some of these seizures he was in my room and Athena never left his side. You could just see the worry in her eyes. She cried for him for two days after he died. Though she gets on with other dogs, he was the only one she was even remotely affectionate towards.

So then I got four month old Poseidan, and almost from the start I knew it wasn't going to work. I had him set up in the bathroom to do cautious introductions. She was all right, though she spent most of her time hiding on the counter even when he was in the bathroom. He, however, pitched a fit. Once he managed to slip out of the bathroom and just utterly went after her, chasing her around with clearly aggressive intent (hissing and snarling, ears flat back...he meant to do damage). He LOVED my dog Red however. So, I decided to adopt another cat his age, hoping that they would play together and he'd leave Athena alone.

So the shelter gave me Iris, who was a Tonkinese. Iris, however, turned out to be about thirteen years old and not seven months, like the rescue thought (and they were hideously embarrassed about the mistake. They felt like idiots ). She wanted nothing to do with either cat and just wanted to sleep on the television. Poseidan ignored her and continued on after Athena. I tried Feliways and about any method of calming and introducing the cats that anyone could suggest, and nothing worked. Finally, the rescue told me to bring Poseidan back. They had a woman who wanted only one cat and she had two big cat loving dogs, so they thought he'd be a better fit there. So I returned him with much feelings of guilt, but knowing he was going to a good home.

Iris, it turned out, was not so laid back as she seemed. While Poseidan was there she kept to herself, and even let Athena sit next to her without so much as a whisker turned. As soon as he left, she turned into devil cat and started going after Athena just as he had. She actually tore fur out though. I called the rescue again and at first they wanted me to tell them what Athena was doing to provoke all this. I told them absolutely nothing, she was terrified to even come near them let alone instigate anything. Then they looked up the records on Iris they had found (they had previously misplaced them, which is why they had gotten her age wrong). It turned out that Iris had been surrendered with an older calico, and that when they were surrendered, the calico had numerous scars and had utterly been beaten up by Iris! She should never have gone to a home with another cat in it because of her aggression.

So Iris went back to the rescue and I was swearing off ever getting another cat again. I didn't want to put Athena through any more stress.

Okay, here's some pictures of my Athena (AKA Theenee, AKA Theeneebear, AKA Teenybutt, etc.)

This is shortly after we first got her and had gained about three pounds. You can still see how skinny she is in these shots. Imagine how she was three pounds lighter!







This is one of my favorite pics of her. She slept like this ALL the time! (and still does, come to think about it).



She also loved the sink water. She would stare at it and play with it all the time. She doesn't so much any more...but only because my sink is usually full with dishes I haven't washed yet *blush*



She is also one of the only cats I know that actively watches television...not just bats at the moving images, but actually WATCHES it.



And finally, here's a picture a friend drew for me after my dog Garth died, of him and Athena.




More stories to come! (I have five more cats to cover *evil grin*)

Hi! and welcome to TCS! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your babies!

EEK! I just noticed that you have three bunnies! I have two myself and just can't get enough of them! You'll have to post pics of them too!

If you need a good forum for pet rabbit owners, then just PM me and I will send you a link to a really great site!

Welcome again!

Loving this thread so far, can't wait to hear about the rest of your clan!

Also want to say a big thank you for your post on the 'why bother to spay, all cats need kittens' thread. If I hadn't already been utterly convinced, I would be now.

Woohoo! My own subscriber! And I didn't even have to register with Publisher's Clearinghouse!

I know what you mean. I have several hours of 'work' left too.

Okay, so where was I? Oh yes. Swearing off getting any other cats. So I had just dropped Iris off at the rescue again (and once more was feeling guilty) when what should catch my eye as I'm leaving the rows of cages but this tiny little ball of brown and orange fur? Call me a sucker, but I stopped. It was a little ten week old kitten, just brought in from foster care to be put up for adoption. And she looked just like an itsy little Athena!

So, I have no will power. I decided to try again. I signed up to adopt this little baby. They scheduled her to be spayed and right after she recovered from surgery I went and picked her up. Installed her in the bathroom and named her Minerva. Min for short...or, as I sometimes call her, Mini-Thee, since she looked so much like Athena.

Did the introductions, and for once Athena didn't flee in fear! She hissed a little at the baby but she didn't run away and hide. And the kitten just ignored her and went bouncing around the house. I started to have hope!!

It wasn't long before she was driving me nuts though. Everytime I'd had kittens in the past they'd been around their brothers and sisters. I had no idea the trouble one could get into without a pal to play with. She was into everything, attacking my feet, meowing at all hours of the night. She learned to open drawers and soon had things strewn around the house.

Then, the rescue called me. They were familiar with my history by now and knew I had just adopted little Minerva.

"We have some kittens her age that just came in. Does she want a friend?"

So back to the rescue I went. There were four kittens from one litter. Two black, one a solid orange tabby, and one orange and white. All as teeny as Min. Now, I didn't particularly like solid orange tabbies. To me, they all seemed to look alike. So I was leaning toward the orange and white, but for some reason I kept getting drawn back to the little orange boy. I guessed it must be karma or fate, and I signed up for him. As soon as he was neutered, I brought him home. I named him Oliver, because he looked so much like the kitten in Oliver and Co.

He and Min instantly connected. Apparently they were only five days apart in age. They wore each other out and saved my house . Athena was neither fond nor frightened...she just ignored them for the most part. Success at last! Athena had company she could tolerate, the kittens were happy and not destroying my home. All was good with the world!

Then Min and Oliver got sick. Respiratory infections. I took them to the vet and got medication. Oliver got better in a few days. Min took longer and only slowly recovered. A couple weeks passed, and she got another one. Then another. By the time she was eight months old, she'd had no fewer than seven infections. I had followed the meds precisely, finishing up each course as it was supposed to be done. We were at the vets almost constantly. When she was just about a year, she was diagnosed with Chronic Respiriatory Syndrome that had damaged her sinus cavity (making her snotty and sounding very dry and wheezy when she breathes, even if she's infection free). She also had massive coughing attacks and the vet discovered she also has asthma. She is now supplemented constantly with L-Lysine, and gets both baby nose drops when needed and regular sessions in the steamy bathroom.

Oliver is now my big boy. He's not fat, he's just BIG. He is a very laid back and a big love, but his heart lays not with me, but with my dog Red. The moment he saw her it was love at first sight. He tried to nurse off of her when he was little, and now he is seized with fits of romance once or twice a day, where he'll gaze adoringly at her, creep up and begin kneading on her and grooming her. If she gets up, he'll follow her around rubbing on her legs and chest and purring fit to burst. She tolerates him to a point before grunting and moving away from him. Sometimes, I have to 'rescue' her from him!

Here are some pictures of Min and Oliver. These are not the most recent I have, but I haven't downloaded my new ones yet.

This is Min shortly after I got her.



Oliver at about nine months old.





Min and Oliver together.



Min watching my rabbits.



Min and my rabbit Piglet sizing each other up through the glass.




And yet more to come!

I can understand how Min stole your heart immediately, she's gorgeous! And big boy Oliver, a big chunky cuddly ball of fluff!

Welcome to TCS!

Hi & Welcome to TCS!!!!
Nice Shoots of your babys!!! they´re so cutes!!!
We see you around the forums!!!

Bearcat: Thanks! I do need a good rabbit forum. I've been trying to find one for a while with no luck I'll post pics of my bunbuns as well for you later in this thread.

Purity: You're going to make me blush too! *shy*

Shortly after I got Min and Oliver, I was heading out to my car to head home from work when a coworker called me over. She had just found a kitten underneath her car! It was tiny and filthy. We looked around for any others but saw no sign of littermates. My coworker could not take her because her daughter was allergic, and so I ended up bringing the little thing home. Tiny little calico girl. I took her straight to the vet and they looked her over. She was a little thin and had bad mites, but other than that seemed healthy. We cleaned her up and the vet said he couldn't test her for Feline Leukemia yet because she was so young she might give a false positive? I'm still not sure about this advice and I have since stopped seeing that vet.

Anyway, I named her Clio and planned to keep her. I kept her in the bathroom exclusively, not wanting to expose her to the other kitties in case she DID have something. It's a good thing I did. Three weeks after I got her, I came home to find her walking drunkenly and very cool to the touch. I rushed her to the emergency vet and they took her in the back. I never saw her again The vet said she was very sick and they put her on fluids. He was going to run some tests and sent me home to wait his call. He called me about an hour later to tell me her leukemia test had come back positive, and she was showing all the classic signs of it. He said that she was very very weak and sick, and the chances of her recovery were very slight. I opted to have her put down. For the first and only time in my life, I opted not to be there when she was euthanized, and I have regretted it every second since. I will never have a pet again be put to sleep without being in the room with it, if at all possible.

I had Athena, Oliver, and Min all tested for Leukemia just in case, and luckily they all came up clean.

And wouldn't you know it, the vet called me again about two months later. The emergency vet, not the regular one. They had a couple bring in their kitten because it had bloody stools. Turns out, it was just worms. However, the couple 'didn't want to deal with it' and abandoned her at the vets. He had remembered my kitten being put down and how upset I was, and wanted to know if I wanted this kitten. Well, being the sucker I am...not to mention furious at people for abandoning what should be their well-loved pet for ANY reason, let alone something as simple as WORMS...I went down to see her.

Turns out, she was a kitten in title only. Just over a year, she was just about fully grown, a beautiful tuxedo tortiseshell that looked evil as sin. Half of her face was orange, and in the shape of a skull, and she just had this look in her eyes that spoke DemonCat. However, the impression of her wickedness lasted all of four seconds. As soon as the vet opened up the kennel she was out, crying and trying to scale up my legs. I picked her up, she put her paws around my neck and gave me a 'hug' while grooming my face and purring loudly.

Yeah, I'm a sucker.

So Tsali joined the household and fit right in. She loved everyone upon first sight, dogs...cats...didn't matter. Everyone was her friend. She loves to give kisses, loves to knead (she does the knead and groom and drool thing). She knows no strangers and no hatred. Despite her 'wicked' looks she is the biggest angel imaginable. I can't imagine how cold her former owners must have been to get rid of such a precious life for nothing more than an easily curable parasite.

I do have one or two pictures of Clio somewhere, but I'll have to find them. Here's some pictures of Tsali, my darling.



Here you can see her evil look and her 'skull' half face:



Isn't she just the pertiest thang?




And I STILL have two cats to go!! You tired yet?

I was going to PM this to you but I figured that would go ahead and post it here just in case anyone else is looking for a good pet rabbit forum. This site is certainly not as busy as TCS (not as many members) but still full of very knowledgable bunny owners.

If I am not mistaken, a guest can view the board, but in order to post you need to first post in the guest board and let a Bunnynator (mod) register you. Then just post away!

Ok, enough rambling from me. Here is the site:

http://lagomorphlounge.proboards2.com/index.cgi

Hope to see ya there and here! hehe. Love the pic of Min and Piglet checking each other out through the glass. Super adorable. Mini Rex? I am totally looking forward to pics of the rest of your bunbuns!

*giggle* Well, I'm on lunch now, so let's see what I can't get out before I have to go back to 'work' .

After Tsali, I figured I was at my limit. Four cats is a pretty good number for anyone, right?

Wrong.

I was taking Red on her daily walk one morning. I live near a park, and just across the road from our apartment complex (busy road) there is a wild patch and a bunch of blackberry bushes. Then the park and a lake. I was walking Red through this wild patch, on my way to the park, when she suddenly perked up and stuck her head under a blackberry bush. I heard hissing.

We have a lot of strays and people who just let their cats wander around in our complex, so I thought it was one of these. I pulled her back and peeked under the bush, and low and behold, there was another tiny little kitten. He was barely weaning age, and I don't see how he could have gotten there on his own. There was no sign of a Mama cat or litter mates, and I had the feeling he was just dumped there from someone who didn't want to deal with him.

I picked him up, took the dog back to the apartment, and went off to the vet. He was healthy but for fleas and mites, and actually a decent weight. This vet did test him immediately for Leukemia and he came up negative. I didn't want a fifth cat, and figured I'd find a home for him, but of course the first time he snuggled into my coat and purred at me, I was helpless.

So Jasper joined the family. My little wild hellion 'cow' kitty. He looked like he was going to be longhair when he was little, just a powder puff, but his adult coat grew in sleek and short. He has a kink in his tail that makes it look like a W when he walks, and he's just full of vinegar, preferring to bounce around and play rather than snuggle. He's getting better though, as he grows into his adulthood. He, too, likes to give kisses on occassion.

Tsali loved him right away. The first time he went in the litter box he cried as he was going potty. He wasn't in any pain, it was just a habit. He would meow as he was digging in the sand. Only to Tsali, she figured this meant he was in danger. I had to interfere or she would literally take him by the scruff and pull him out of the litter box and then fuss over him frantically to make sure he was okay. She was his 'mama' from the get-go.

I have some kitten pics of him and some better shots, but their not uploaded yet. I only have three of them up right now that were taken fairly recently. He, like Oliver, ADORES my dog Red. Not as obsessively, but he definately loves to snuggle and cuddle her. I took these three pictures of him being his charming self and my dog looking at me with her normal 'help me' expression.



In this one, he's actually kissing the bottom of her chin.



Good pals...and Tsali's tooshie



One more cat to go! (and some bunnies )

BearCat: Yup, he's a mini-rex There's a long story behind my buns too, which I'll post up here if no one minds. I'll have to check out the bunny forum. All the ones I've been too have been either totally dead or just plain unhelpful.

My last kitty is my one and only breeder cat.

I was done with kitties. DONE. I have five, no more!

Yeah, right. Say it with me. Sucker....

Remember my stepdad's hellion cat that terrorized Athena? Well, in reality, she belonged to my stepsister. The cat was NUTS. She didn't like other cats and didn't really like people. She was nearly twenty pounds, and MEAN. She'd attack you, attack other cats and dogs, she was just dangerous. My stepfather wanted to rehome her, but he didn't want her to go to a shelter where she'd be put down, and no one wanted a mean kitty.

Miracle of miracles, I found a coworker who lives alone and was looking for a kitty. He didn't want a cuddler, he wanted a mouser. I told him about Jasmine and he was interested in taking her, even after hearing the horror stories. So I told my stepfather and he told my stepsister. It had to be her decision. Reluctantly, she decided it was in Jasmine's best interest, as well as in the best interests of their other cat, who...like Athena...was totally terrorized by Jasmine. Happy at her choice, my stepfather promised that he would get her and my other sister a kitten each. It being, of course, my job to find the kittens since I knew all the things to look for and all the questions to ask.

So Jasmine went to her new home...and, upon discovering she was the only cat there, did an UTTER turn around and has apparently become a lap cat! She was just so stressed and upset about other animals in 'her' home she had become overstimulated and upset at EVERYTHING.

My sister is really in to leopards. I wanted to get her and my stepsister Bengal kitties but was having a hard time finding any in rescue...which is a good thing . I didn't want to go to a breeder, so I had set myself on getting them moggies instead, which was fine with them. So I started looking through Petfinder and shelters to find a pair of kitties that would integrate well into their home. I ruled out older cats because I didn't want their other cat, already traumatized, to feel overwhelmed by another grown cat in her space. Kittens, I felt, would be more likely to smoothly integrate themselves, and it was getting into kitten season anyway.

However, I just didn't find any kittens that fit. They were all sweet and nice, but none were really saying they were the ones.

Then, lo and behold, I find a listing for a small in-home rescue that has TWO snow bengal kittens, brother and sister, for adoption! I called her and found out she had literally just put the posting up moments before I called. She agreed to hold them until I could get off work and come meet them.

The rescuer was very nice. She made sure I had researched bengals thoroughly and was familiar with their temperment and needs. She herself had bengals, and there was also a litter of pixie bobs there waiting adoption. Apparently, there had been a massive rescue from a bad breeder and these two last kittens were from the last fostered Mama who had given birth. The fosterer had decided to adopt Mama, but now it was the babies' turns. They were beautiful little seal point lynx snows, with big blue eyes and tiny little 'toasted marshmallow' spots. I filled out the paperwork, and Adaggio and Calliope were on their way.

My sisters loved them immediately. They were as alike as two bookends, save the male was a little larger than his sister. However, all was not paradise.

A week after they arrived at my mother's house, Adaggio was found in the morning weak, cold, and very sick. He had vomited on the bed he was laying on, and barely responded when they picked him up. They called me, and rushed both cats to the vet. There, a blood test showed that Adaggio was suffering from panleukopenia. He arrested and died only minutes later.

The family went home and frantically bleached the house, isolating Calliope, who was acting just fine. I called the rescue and told her of the situation, and she immediately locked down her home and put all adoptions on hold. I kept touch with her over the next several weeks. Miraculously, none of her kitties got sick, nor did Calliope. It's a mystery how Adaggio obtained panleukopenia or where he got it from. I'm wondering if it wasn't the vaccine itself that triggered it.

Of course, my sister was devestated, and even though I could not have known what was to happen, I felt absolutely horrible for having given her a sick kitty. So, I determined to find a good bengal breeder and buy her a bengal kitty to replace the one she lost. In the mean time, my mother actually moved out of the house and the vet advised that getting a new kitten would be fine so long as it was vaccinated against panleuk ten days before coming home. So I started the hunt for a good bengal breeder.

I finally found one I was comfortable with, who asked me as many questions as I asked him. He was preparing for a breeding that would result in F3 hybrid kittens. When I showed interest he made sure I was aware of what owning an F3 might be like. That some were more shy, more aloof, and less 'lap cat' than others. I went over all this with my sister as well, making her quite clear that she would have to be sure to oversocialize the kitty, to handle it daily and consistantly, and that even if she did she may not expect to get a lap cat out of the bargain. She understood it all and so I recontacted the breeder.

On a side note, both my sisters knew from the start that if they had to give up either of their kitties for whatever reason, both the rescue one or the one from the breeder, they were to go to ME and no one else. My name is on both the bill of sale and as the legal owner on the registration from the rescue, so they are well aware that I can, at any time, take those cats away from them if I feel they are not getting proper care. Not that I would. They care about their cats as much as I do or I'd never have agreed to these arrangements.

Anyway, during the mother's pregnancy I remained in contact with the breeder. He sent me photos of the kittens when they were born and as they progressed. I wasn't able to go up to visit him as often as I'd have liked, due to the distance being somewhat prohibitive. However in the course of this process I found out that one of the males in the litter did not have a taker...the buyer had backed out.

Call me a sucker.

So my sister got her little female F3 hybrid bengal, Isis, and I got my sweet little male, her brother Aslan. He will be four months old on March 24th. Oliver took to him first, but everyone loves him utterly now. I even caught Athena PLAYING with him, which floored me. She's so much happier now that she had friends that don't bully her.

Tsali is as loving and protective as ever. My boxer got over-enthusiastic playing with the kitten and scared him. Tsali ran over and chased my boxer clear back to the bedroom, hissing and screeching at her and batting her hind end. I've never before seen a forty pound dog run from a nine pound cat before.

Because he's a male F3 hybrid (His great-grandfather was an Amur Leopard cat...and a magnificent one ) he is very likely sterile. He's getting fixed regardless. I saw both his parents and they're both gorgeous. Both he and his sister have this funny little meow at times that sounds like that growly mewling that tiger and lion cubs use.

Anyway, you know you want pictures! So here's my bengal hybrid Aslan!

King of Mama!



Here he is indulging in his favorite activity. He loves to eat!! He growls to himself while he does, its so cute. It's like he's saying 'Mmmmmm mmmmm mmmm!" And yes, that tummy is ALL food.







I'm a wild boy. Grr! Be afraid!



With his brother Oliver...


and his brother Jasper...




I have pics of him and his sister from very little on, but I need to upload those too.

And those are my kitties! Six, and NO MORE! I'm at my limit! Really. I am.

Really.

I swear.

What great stories You have a beautiful family. Can't wait to hear about the bunnies.

Welcome to TCS.

Okee, I posted my buns in the 'Show Us Your Buns' thread

Thankfully, I didn't take the title literally. My coworkers might have been greatly amused