How did you choose your furry masters?

On 2004-10-16 21:16:11 -0700, Marina said:

Katrina wrote:

Aren't they sweet? Ming is a bit reserved, and has a very subtle purr.
Buttercup is absolutely fearless and has a purr like a gravel truck.
I'm not sure that she realizes that she's a Little Kitty. She thinks
she's a Panther.

That's a little like my Frank and Nikki. when I broguth home Nikki as a
kitten. Frank was 11 months old then. Nikki was fearless, and still is,
16 years later. She still believes she's a lion.

Your cats look so sweet. Isn't it lovely when they sleep together and
groom each other? I love watching the cats interact.

I love watching them... right at the moment they're playing "popcorn
cats". They're chasing each other up and down the hallway (isn't it
amazing how much noise two small cats can make?). When one catches the
other, they both jump straight up with their backs arched and paws
spread, then hit the floor and reverse- the chaser becomes the
chasee... Too much fun. The fact that I gave them just a smidge of
'nip didn't have anything to do with it...

Katrina

On 2004-10-16 21:16:11 -0700, Marina said:

Katrina wrote:

Aren't they sweet? Ming is a bit reserved, and has a very subtle purr.
Buttercup is absolutely fearless and has a purr like a gravel truck.
I'm not sure that she realizes that she's a Little Kitty. She thinks
she's a Panther.

That's a little like my Frank and Nikki. when I broguth home Nikki as a
kitten. Frank was 11 months old then. Nikki was fearless, and still is,
16 years later. She still believes she's a lion.

Your cats look so sweet. Isn't it lovely when they sleep together and
groom each other? I love watching the cats interact.

I love watching them... right at the moment they're playing "popcorn
cats". They're chasing each other up and down the hallway (isn't it
amazing how much noise two small cats can make?). When one catches the
other, they both jump straight up with their backs arched and paws
spread, then hit the floor and reverse- the chaser becomes the
chasee... Too much fun. The fact that I gave them just a smidge of
'nip didn't have anything to do with it...

Katrina

On 2004-10-16 21:16:11 -0700, Marina said:

Katrina wrote:

Aren't they sweet? Ming is a bit reserved, and has a very subtle purr.
Buttercup is absolutely fearless and has a purr like a gravel truck.
I'm not sure that she realizes that she's a Little Kitty. She thinks
she's a Panther.

That's a little like my Frank and Nikki. when I broguth home Nikki as a
kitten. Frank was 11 months old then. Nikki was fearless, and still is,
16 years later. She still believes she's a lion.

Your cats look so sweet. Isn't it lovely when they sleep together and
groom each other? I love watching the cats interact.

I love watching them... right at the moment they're playing "popcorn
cats". They're chasing each other up and down the hallway (isn't it
amazing how much noise two small cats can make?). When one catches the
other, they both jump straight up with their backs arched and paws
spread, then hit the floor and reverse- the chaser becomes the
chasee... Too much fun. The fact that I gave them just a smidge of
'nip didn't have anything to do with it...

Katrina

Katrina wrote:

I love watching them... right at the moment they're playing "popcorn
cats". They're chasing each other up and down the hallway (isn't it
amazing how much noise two small cats can make?). When one catches the
other, they both jump straight up with their backs arched and paws
spread, then hit the floor and reverse- the chaser becomes the
chasee... Too much fun. The fact that I gave them just a smidge of
'nip didn't have anything to do with it...

ROFL! 'Popcorn cats'! What an excellent description. I know exactly how
that goes.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

Katrina wrote:

I love watching them... right at the moment they're playing "popcorn
cats". They're chasing each other up and down the hallway (isn't it
amazing how much noise two small cats can make?). When one catches the
other, they both jump straight up with their backs arched and paws
spread, then hit the floor and reverse- the chaser becomes the
chasee... Too much fun. The fact that I gave them just a smidge of
'nip didn't have anything to do with it...

ROFL! 'Popcorn cats'! What an excellent description. I know exactly how
that goes.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

Katrina wrote:

I love watching them... right at the moment they're playing "popcorn
cats". They're chasing each other up and down the hallway (isn't it
amazing how much noise two small cats can make?). When one catches the
other, they both jump straight up with their backs arched and paws
spread, then hit the floor and reverse- the chaser becomes the
chasee... Too much fun. The fact that I gave them just a smidge of
'nip didn't have anything to do with it...

ROFL! 'Popcorn cats'! What an excellent description. I know exactly how
that goes.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

I can't claim credit for my three, since I didn't think I wanted or
needed a cat, especially seeing as I live in a "No fur pet" apartment
complex, just fish and birds allowed.

When I moved in here, the owners and manager were very pet friendly,
though, so there were several complex kitties. As you can tell, the no
pet policy was largely ignored. I quickly found out that if I put out
food the various complex kitties would come to visit. Of course, I
soon found that I was also feeding all the cats in the neighborhood.
We also had a few ferals in the neighborhood, including one mostly
white, black and white tom - who comes back into the story later on.

Anyway, one summer a friendly little black and white tuxedo kitty,
wearing a flea collar, started making regular appearances at the food.
When winter came she showed up pregnant, but I could never found out
where she lived. Along came an ice storm, and she was crying at the
door wanting in out of the cold. I let her inside, and she checked out
the place and decided to move in. I made a half hearted attempt to
find out where she came from - more to give her family an earful about
leaving her out in the cold in her condition than anything else.

I didn't figure I wanted or needed any cats, but it wasn't long before
she had her kittens (in the bedroom closet). So I decided that I was
stuck with them until they were weaned. They had to have names, so the
little bitty momma kitty became Little Bit, and her babies were Jug
Head, Little Brother, Tiny, and Sambo. I know, terrible names, but
blame the neighbor who ended up keeping Jug Head. By the time the
babies were ready to go to their forever homes, though, I found that I
was keeping the Little Bit and Sambo, who was quickly renamed Sammy.

Now back to the mostly white, black and white feral tom. After a
couple years the complex was sold, and the new owners decided to start
enforcing the no pet policy. I told them I was moving, and they
decided to grandfather those who had pets to keep old time tenants.
So, I ended up staying here, with Little Bit and Sam. Almost moving
made me decide that I needed to find that tom a permanent home. By
this time he was accepting a few scritches, so I found him a home with
a customer who wanted an outside barn kitty. But when the time came to
take him to his new home, I found that he, too, had wormed his way
into the family. Long, LONG, story a little shorter, he became my
third owner - named after Rocky Balboa because he came with scars from
living 8-10 years as an intact tom feral.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

I can't claim credit for my three, since I didn't think I wanted or
needed a cat, especially seeing as I live in a "No fur pet" apartment
complex, just fish and birds allowed.

When I moved in here, the owners and manager were very pet friendly,
though, so there were several complex kitties. As you can tell, the no
pet policy was largely ignored. I quickly found out that if I put out
food the various complex kitties would come to visit. Of course, I
soon found that I was also feeding all the cats in the neighborhood.
We also had a few ferals in the neighborhood, including one mostly
white, black and white tom - who comes back into the story later on.

Anyway, one summer a friendly little black and white tuxedo kitty,
wearing a flea collar, started making regular appearances at the food.
When winter came she showed up pregnant, but I could never found out
where she lived. Along came an ice storm, and she was crying at the
door wanting in out of the cold. I let her inside, and she checked out
the place and decided to move in. I made a half hearted attempt to
find out where she came from - more to give her family an earful about
leaving her out in the cold in her condition than anything else.

I didn't figure I wanted or needed any cats, but it wasn't long before
she had her kittens (in the bedroom closet). So I decided that I was
stuck with them until they were weaned. They had to have names, so the
little bitty momma kitty became Little Bit, and her babies were Jug
Head, Little Brother, Tiny, and Sambo. I know, terrible names, but
blame the neighbor who ended up keeping Jug Head. By the time the
babies were ready to go to their forever homes, though, I found that I
was keeping the Little Bit and Sambo, who was quickly renamed Sammy.

Now back to the mostly white, black and white feral tom. After a
couple years the complex was sold, and the new owners decided to start
enforcing the no pet policy. I told them I was moving, and they
decided to grandfather those who had pets to keep old time tenants.
So, I ended up staying here, with Little Bit and Sam. Almost moving
made me decide that I needed to find that tom a permanent home. By
this time he was accepting a few scritches, so I found him a home with
a customer who wanted an outside barn kitty. But when the time came to
take him to his new home, I found that he, too, had wormed his way
into the family. Long, LONG, story a little shorter, he became my
third owner - named after Rocky Balboa because he came with scars from
living 8-10 years as an intact tom feral.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

I can't claim credit for my three, since I didn't think I wanted or
needed a cat, especially seeing as I live in a "No fur pet" apartment
complex, just fish and birds allowed.

When I moved in here, the owners and manager were very pet friendly,
though, so there were several complex kitties. As you can tell, the no
pet policy was largely ignored. I quickly found out that if I put out
food the various complex kitties would come to visit. Of course, I
soon found that I was also feeding all the cats in the neighborhood.
We also had a few ferals in the neighborhood, including one mostly
white, black and white tom - who comes back into the story later on.

Anyway, one summer a friendly little black and white tuxedo kitty,
wearing a flea collar, started making regular appearances at the food.
When winter came she showed up pregnant, but I could never found out
where she lived. Along came an ice storm, and she was crying at the
door wanting in out of the cold. I let her inside, and she checked out
the place and decided to move in. I made a half hearted attempt to
find out where she came from - more to give her family an earful about
leaving her out in the cold in her condition than anything else.

I didn't figure I wanted or needed any cats, but it wasn't long before
she had her kittens (in the bedroom closet). So I decided that I was
stuck with them until they were weaned. They had to have names, so the
little bitty momma kitty became Little Bit, and her babies were Jug
Head, Little Brother, Tiny, and Sambo. I know, terrible names, but
blame the neighbor who ended up keeping Jug Head. By the time the
babies were ready to go to their forever homes, though, I found that I
was keeping the Little Bit and Sambo, who was quickly renamed Sammy.

Now back to the mostly white, black and white feral tom. After a
couple years the complex was sold, and the new owners decided to start
enforcing the no pet policy. I told them I was moving, and they
decided to grandfather those who had pets to keep old time tenants.
So, I ended up staying here, with Little Bit and Sam. Almost moving
made me decide that I needed to find that tom a permanent home. By
this time he was accepting a few scritches, so I found him a home with
a customer who wanted an outside barn kitty. But when the time came to
take him to his new home, I found that he, too, had wormed his way
into the family. Long, LONG, story a little shorter, he became my
third owner - named after Rocky Balboa because he came with scars from
living 8-10 years as an intact tom feral.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

On 2004-10-16, Kajikit wrote:

Or did they choose you? Stories please!

Fuzzbox (RB) was my first cat, I got him from a private home when he was a
kitten. I don't think I paid anything for him at all. He was a beautiful
little white kitten with a grey H between his ears. The H faded as he grew.

Izzi and Fenda (both RB) came from the RSPCA in Basildon. We lived in East
London in a mouse and cockroach infested flat, and got permission from our
landlord to get a couple of cats. We told the RSPCA that we wanted two
young, neutered cats. Three or four days later, they actually delivered two
little black cats, eighteen months old. One was smooth haired and very
affectionate (Izzi), the other was semi-longhaired and semi-feral (Fenda).
By the time we had them put to sleep because of illness earlier this year,
Izzi was a grumpy old grouch, and Fenda was a total love-bug.

Charlie (RB) was a stray kitten that I got from my friend's vet. She knew
that I was looking for a kitten, and knew that there was a stray at the
vets. He was exactly what I was looking for, and it was love at first sight.

Spooky (RB) was my first Cats Protection cat, he was a kitten rescued from a
neutering job at a feral colony north of Preston. He tamed up very quickly.

Ripley turned up at the back door claiming that he'd always lived with me,
and that I'd forgotten to feed him recently. I decided to believe him, and
he's been very happy with us for the last six or seven years.

Cav is a 'chosen' cat, I took his photograph for our Branch Cats Protection
website, and showed it to Ade. "Look at this one eyed tabby, isn't he the
cutest thing?" Ade fell for him, and we went to see my friend, who was
fostering him, had a look at him, drove half way home 'to think about it',
then turned the car around and went to get him.

Jeanette