I've had 8 cats in my life and that's not counting the friendly strays or cats of friends and neighbors. Be sure to check the links for more pictures and gotcha stories on each cat.
My first cat, Fluffy, was dumped off at the end of our driveway when I was a kid. We lived in the country and sadly this seemed to be a normal occurrence. Fluffy, a long haired calico, was named by my little brother and she gave birth to tiny kittens in the attic just a couple days later. We found homes for the kittens (I cried) and then eventually had to find a home for Fluffy as my brother was allergic. I don't have any pictures of Fluffy given that most of my parent's photos are on slides!
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| Marbles |
My next cat was as a 20-something living in Miami. We had just moved there and this friendly black & white cat was hanging around our apartment building. I eventually brought her inside and later learned that she had "ran" out of a neighbors apartment and they had never tried to bring her back inside. They gave me "permission" to adopt her - as if I was gonna give her back. I named her Marbles because she was mostly white with a few random black spots and I couldn't very well call a cat Spot - that was too dog like.
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| Tula 8/12/02 - 5/15/10 |
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| Pepper 8/12/02 - 9/9/13 |
My next cats came as a mother and son pair. I worked at the University of Miami at the time and when we came in to work Monday morning someone had dropped them off overnight. I quickly convinced my roommate to let me adopt them and brought Tula and Pepper home. Pepper was still nursing and still had tiny little blue eyes. Tula was a Main Coon mix and Pepper was a Main Coon mix mix. They were both large cats with gorgeous long fur. I jokingly talked to them in Spanish instead of English - it was a Miami thing. They both moved with me to NY where we didn't have quite as much sun to sit in but I think they liked it.
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| Squeaky 2008? - 5/19/16 Gotcha Day: 11/23/10 |
Squeaky was my first NY cat. She was a stray that was fed by the liquor store owner next to my office. I would often sit on the back steps and talk with her at lunch - she squeaked instead of meowed. She had a couple litters of kittens over the course of a year and eventually disappeared. I asked the lady if she had seen her and found out that Squeaky had been spayed and given to the upstairs tenants. I randomly said if they ever changed their mind, I would take her. In less than 2 weeks there was a note on my windshield that I could have her - they hadn't even named her yet. She was very appreciative as she always had to sit in my lap or be near me no matter what I was doing. Squeaky wouldn't bother quilts I had layed out on the floor over night - she waited until morning so I could watch her take a running leap with a twist to rearrange my blocks. The doll bed was purchased with Squeaky in mind - it needed to be sturdy and low to the ground for my fat Dolly.
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| Midgie 9/14/99 - 9/22/15 |
One year my brother's family was going to Disney for a couple of weeks and asked if I could take their cat while they were gone. They came home from Florida but never asked for their cat and I never offered her back - it took forever for the boys to even notice she was gone. I eventually changed her name to Midgie - what else do you call a tiny 6 pound cat? Midgie also had to be every where I was and could talk a blue streak. It would get a little crowded on the couch with Squeaky and Midgie both vying for lap space. Luckily Pepper was more of a floor kind of guy.
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| Zorro Gotcha Day: September 2013 |
Zorro took his time before adopting me. He was a stray in the neighborhood for an entire summer. He became friendlier and would sit in my lap. As winter approached I decided to bring him inside, except he did not want to be inside only as my other cats were. It was a long battle but we soon worked out a truce that he would be an innie-outie kitty and we trained each other so that he rings a bell when he wants out. He's quite smart - too smart if we are being honest. Over the last 5 years he has become increasingly friendlier, even enjoying sitting on my lap every day for the last few weeks. He seems to be happiest as an only child.
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| Little Boy Bleu 2010? - 3/18/17 Gotcha Day: September 2016 |
Little Boy Bleu was another stray in the neighborhood. He was very shy and it took an entire summer before I even got a good look at his beautiful face as he was always slinking away along the property lines. We finally decided he was a Mitted Seal Point Ragdoll! A gorgeous boy who sadly only lived with me for a few months. He was another grateful kitty who loved to be in my lap and wasn't bothered by whatever hexie project I was working on over the top of him.
Have you picked up that all my cats have found me? Picked me?
And for that I am forever thankful!
