I talk about cats quite a lot in my Journal posts. I’ll catalog them here for easy reference. I’ll list the current indoor cats, the current outdoor cats, and cats and dogs who have gone to the Rainbow Bridge.
Current Indoor Cats
Ajax:
A Sealpoint Siamese, born early in 2006. He is not a rescue cat.
Lady:
Born September 25, 2010, in our parlor to Roxy, a foster cat. Lady had three male siblings. We found homes for two and kept her younger brother, Tarzan. Roxy also went to a new home after she was spayed and the kittens weaned. Lady loves people, but she has strong differences of opinion about other cats. Fortunately, she’s beginning to mellow.
Tarzan:
Lady’s little brother, also born on September 25, 2010. Tarzan is very gentle with us and extremely shy if anyone comes to visit. He can be found “hiding” as a lump under the bedspread or other places where he thinks he cannot be seen. Somewhere in his lineage, he must have some Siamese, because he has the distinctive kink in the end of his tail. He also has “angel wings.”
Delta:
She is one of four siblings, three of whom are still alive, born in the spring/summer of 2012. We call them the “indoor ferals.” They were trapped as kittens and kept inside until they were old enough to be spayed, but they were not socialized and have been slow to adapt to us. Delta is the most socialized of the three. Their brother, Floyd, was very sociable, and quite a kitty. Delta, like Tarzan, isn’t much for people other than us, though, and she has a reputation among the veterinary staff that does not match her behavior here at home.
Rossie:
Rossie has been the scapecat. Lady and Daphne have attacked her for no apparent reason. The other cats have not stood up to protect her. We haven’t been able to figure out a logical reason for why she’s ostracized. We love her dearly. After protecting her in a cage at night and limiting her access to two downstairs rooms during the day for over a year, Rossie has been released to go anywhere she wants in the house as of mid-August 2016. Her confidence has grown, and she decided after two weeks of freedom that she was ready to go back upstairs. We have seen her moving throughout the house, and so far, she’s doing well. Unfortunately, Rossie retreated again, so she has moved back into the parlor and kitchen during the day, and she goes into the cage at night. She seems most comfortable with this arrangment, and Rossie’s comfort is paramount. In December, 2017, Lady broke her foot, and I needed to confine her to limit her movements. We experimented again with giving Rossie the run of the house. This time, she is doing well and chooses to stay mostly in the parlor. She moves between underneath the rocker to the window sill to on top of Jase’s cage (the new occupant as of March, 2018). She loved Animal Scents Cat Treats and will sometimes emerge from hiding to get some.
RubyMae:
Ruby was the smallest of the four in her litter. She sticks to herself much of the time, but she loves to be petted when she’s on the bed, in the alcove at the top of the stairs, on one of the ice cream chairs, or in the garden window. Anywhere else? She makes it clear she’s off limits. She’s so elusive, the most recent picture I have of her is this game camera photo of her on the counter (where she isn’t supposed to be).
Daphne:
Daphne is part Siamese, lilac point, we think. She’s a gorgeous imp. She loves to climb ladders.
Sapphire:
A feral kitten who showed up at the feeder back at the end of July, 2015. I trapped her, and she was spayed at the end of January, 2016. She’s been in the house, but she isn’t interested in being handled by us. Despite this, she spends a lot of her time near us and is curious about these strange creatures who seem to want to grab her and pet her all the time. Zelda is Sapphire’s mama.
Sneaky (aka Sneakers, Squeaky, or Squeakers)
Sneaky is either the aunt or the mama for Delta, Rossie, RubyMae, and Pretty Boy Floyd. She is the tamest of all of them. Sneaky was an outdoor cat, but my concerns for her vulnerability to the FIV virus with her continued life outdoors prompted me to bring her into the house in Spring, 2016. She has adapted well to being inside but does not like to interact with the other inside cats. For now, she has her own private suite consisting of the dining room and downstairs bathroom.
Daisy:
Daisy is the sole surviving kitten (as far as I know) from Zelda’s final litter. She was born September 30, 2016. Daisy had her spaying appointment on April 3, 2017, and when I picked her up, she had post-surgical instructions to be kept in the house for 10 days. Sometime during that time, Daisy became an indoor kitty. She doesn’t want much to do with us either, but when I do manage to pick her up, she’s accepting and gentle.
Jase:
The first thing you’ll notice is he is not like the others. Right. Jase is a…dog. Mr. L found him wandering downtown on a Sunday afternoon by himself when he was about 6 weeks old. He’s here to stay. We estimate he was born approximately January 29, 2018. We call him by his designer dog breed — Sheprador.
Current Outdoor Cats
Walter:
Walter is a gorgeous kitty. He’s been neutered and is current on shots. He loves Canned food and will allow us to pet him while he eats. Since Jase joined the fold, Walter waits outside the back door to see Jase every night (but they do not interact yet). Walter is starting to let me hold him for brief moments.
Zelda:
Zelda had been a prolific kitten producer for several years. She’s Sapphire’s mama. She was Nick’s mama, and she’s Daisy’s mama. She may be mama for several other local cats, but I haven’t verified that. In November, 2016, I’d earned enough of her trust for her to allow me to trap her. She’s been spayed and has current vaccinations. She acts like she wants to be near us, but she doesn’t quite trust us yet.
Gray Socks Ghost:
I named him this, because he reminds me so very much of Gray Socks (see below). I’ve been working on befriending him with some success. I trapped him on April 30. He tested positive for FIV, so he got neutered and vaccinated, and I’m continuing my attempts at socialization.
Scooter:
Scooter Is not socialized, but I was able to trap him on May 18, 2018. He is also FIV-positive, neutered, and vaccinated. Scooter earned his name because he scoots whenever he sees me. Except he doesn’t anymore. He’s waiting on the porch in the morning for his can of food, but I can’t get closer than within about three or four feet of him. Scooter is a very solid kitty.
Cats and Dogs Who Have Gone to the Rainbow Bridge Since 2005
Nick: March 28, 2017
Nick was in Zelda’s second to last litter. He had at least two other litter mates who disappeared (I may have seen them on the game camera recently, but I’m not sure). Nick gravitated to us. I was able to trap him the same day I trapped Zelda, and he got neutered and vaccinated. He showed promise for developing into a cuddly kitty. Unfortunately, he was struck by a car on the morning of March 28 and killed instantly.
Boomer: November 28, 2016
Boomer has been around for a little while. We thought he and Walter were the same cat until we saw them both at the same time one night. Walter is silvery, while Boomer has a more brown undercoat. There are other ways to tell them apart, but that’s the easiest. We haven’t been able to get closer than within a few feet of Boomer. When I was finally able to lift Boomer into a carrier, he tested positive for FIV and leukemia.
Gray Socks: September 6, 2016
Gray Socks wasn’t officially one of my outside cats, but he was becoming that way. He made regular appearances on the game camera. He began being willing to be petted, so I scooped him up to take him in to be neutered. Unfortunately, he tested positive for FIV. Dr. Val held him back to euthanize him later. He trustingly went into a cage in the back, and my last sight of him was of him on his hind legs surveying the area with interest. Such a sweet kitty. So heartbreaking.
Junior: January 22, 2016
For a long time, we didn’t realize we had three outside cats other than Sneaky. Junior appears to be the youngest of the three boys. He came to us for Fancy Feast. He was very talkative. We could pet him, but he was very jumpy. We had not been able to capture him to get him neutered or to get him his shots. We anticipated 2016 would be the year for that. Junior’s tail had a distinctive curve. He also had a twin, probably a brother, but that kitty had a collar, so he belonged to somebody. In January, 2016, I caught Junior to get him tested, neutered, and returned to the yard. Unfortunately, he test positive for FIV, which is a death sentence to an outdoor kitty.
Natasha: April 22, 2015
Pretty Boy Floyd: October 20, 2014
Mr. Moose: June 14, 2014
Millie: January 18, 2012
Dazzle: July 5, 2011
Pericles: May 21, 2009
Hershey: October 25, 2009
Magellan: June 18, 2005
