Hello,
As the title says, I have recently returned after a long absence, and thought I would introduce myself.
I am a single woman, 47 years old and have been a keeper of cats for the last 27 years.
I currently have 5 cats; my oldest is Teeker, a 17 year old calico female that has been my companion for the last 15 years. Probably owing to her age and health issues, she is a quiet, calm kitty. She is in early stage kidney failure, which has been stable for 3 years now, was recently diagnosed with mild pancreatitis, and has arthritis. I am continuously monitoring her behavior for signs that she may be taking a downturn, but I feel very lucky, as all of her issues are currently stable and treatable.
More recently I brought siblings Theo and Jeni home. Theo is an orange and white tabby male, who tends to be a bit anxious, and doesn't really like to be touched, except around his ears. But he loves to play, and especially likes to 'hunt' his treats. When I shake the treat jar to get their attention, Theo runs and hides under a chair, then waits for me to toss his treat so he can chase and pounce on it. Jeni is a lynx point female, and largely the opposite of her brother. She loves belly rubs and cuddling in my lap, and also loves to play, but I do have to be careful which toys I give her. When she 'hunts' her toys, she tends to actually try to eat them when she catches them. They were 15 weeks old when they came to live with me, and are now 2 years old.
7 months after I adopted them, I brought 8 month old Suri home. She is now a a little over a year and a half old, and is a tiny, but spunky black kitty who is the actual boss of the house. Unfortunately she did not get along with my older 2 kittens, and in fact, still doesn't. While I do not have a problem having some of my cats live separate lives from each other, I could tell that she was not dealing well with being isolated, and so decided to try and find a cat that would get along with her. Somewhat to my surprise I was successful. I adopted Yoda to be Suri's friend, and the two of them get along just fine. Yoda is a one-eyed black tabby, who loves everyone, and can get into more trouble than all my other cats combined. He has been with me for 9 months now, and is a couple months older than Jeni and Theo.
Aside from being the very happy caregiver of my 5 amazing cats, I also volunteer at my county animal shelter. Which, let's be honest, is largely the reason I adopted 4 cats in less than a year. I was wondering if anyone knew of any forums or threads specific for shelter volunteers to discuss their experiences in? I did search, but couldn't find anything here.
As the title says, I have recently returned after a long absence, and thought I would introduce myself.
I am a single woman, 47 years old and have been a keeper of cats for the last 27 years.
I currently have 5 cats; my oldest is Teeker, a 17 year old calico female that has been my companion for the last 15 years. Probably owing to her age and health issues, she is a quiet, calm kitty. She is in early stage kidney failure, which has been stable for 3 years now, was recently diagnosed with mild pancreatitis, and has arthritis. I am continuously monitoring her behavior for signs that she may be taking a downturn, but I feel very lucky, as all of her issues are currently stable and treatable.
More recently I brought siblings Theo and Jeni home. Theo is an orange and white tabby male, who tends to be a bit anxious, and doesn't really like to be touched, except around his ears. But he loves to play, and especially likes to 'hunt' his treats. When I shake the treat jar to get their attention, Theo runs and hides under a chair, then waits for me to toss his treat so he can chase and pounce on it. Jeni is a lynx point female, and largely the opposite of her brother. She loves belly rubs and cuddling in my lap, and also loves to play, but I do have to be careful which toys I give her. When she 'hunts' her toys, she tends to actually try to eat them when she catches them. They were 15 weeks old when they came to live with me, and are now 2 years old.
7 months after I adopted them, I brought 8 month old Suri home. She is now a a little over a year and a half old, and is a tiny, but spunky black kitty who is the actual boss of the house. Unfortunately she did not get along with my older 2 kittens, and in fact, still doesn't. While I do not have a problem having some of my cats live separate lives from each other, I could tell that she was not dealing well with being isolated, and so decided to try and find a cat that would get along with her. Somewhat to my surprise I was successful. I adopted Yoda to be Suri's friend, and the two of them get along just fine. Yoda is a one-eyed black tabby, who loves everyone, and can get into more trouble than all my other cats combined. He has been with me for 9 months now, and is a couple months older than Jeni and Theo.
Aside from being the very happy caregiver of my 5 amazing cats, I also volunteer at my county animal shelter. Which, let's be honest, is largely the reason I adopted 4 cats in less than a year. I was wondering if anyone knew of any forums or threads specific for shelter volunteers to discuss their experiences in? I did search, but couldn't find anything here.