The Extra Kitty

The fifth kitten, Baby, is also known as the "Extra Kitty". When we adopted Jack, we had no intention to get any more. Jack was pretty much an impulse buy. As I was paying for Jack, I saw my husband holding a little tortie girl on his shoulder, and she was licking his ear. When I saw the look on his face, I asked, "Do you give discounts for a second cat?" Yep. So that is how we acquired the Extra Kitty. Here she is as a kitten:

Baby is the most cuddly cat I have ever seen. She loves to sit tucked up under my husband's chin while he is on the computer or watching TV. She also snuggles with Jack and Simon, and sleeps on my legs at night. I'm glad we got two kittens at the same time. They spent a lot of time roughhousing with each other. Even now, almost a year later, they are wrestling. They are so much fun, and I would highly recommend that two cats or kittens are adopted at the same time.

MySmartyCat  - Test your cat's intelligence!

My Cat Jack

Even though we had three cats up to this point, my husband and I liked to go to various shelters in the area to look at the cats. One of the shelters had a room where at least 100 cats roamed free. There were colorful ramps, cat trees, beds for them to lounge in, and a large window that looked over the small parking lot and the fields beyond. We had no intention to get another kitten. However, there was a small little girl that climbed on my husband's shoulder and just perched there. We couldn't make up our minds then so we went home to think about her. We came back the next day and she was gone. Someone had already adopted her.



We looked at the other kittens and noticed a small, skinny boy that was very friendly. We knew we couldn't wait long to make a decision. As I was filling out the paperwork, a shelter volunteer went in to get the kitten. There was someone that was interested in him and I could hear her disappointment over losing him. Whew! Here is Jack as a baby:

They said Jack was about 5 months old, but he seemed small to me. He had diarrhea even after he was wormed, and it took me a while to find that the food he was eating caused the problem. Jack has a better food that agrees with him now, but I think he will always be a small boy. Now that he is a year old, he is much smaller than Simon. Here is Jack now:

He decided he was the perfect size to sit in my floppy hat.

MySmartyCat  - Test your cat's intelligence!

My Cat Simon

Simon is cat number three. Now that I had cats I would often go to the pet store to get food and supplies. I loved to go to the adoption center at the PetSmart and look at the kittens and cats that were waiting for new homes. One day I saw a black short hair male. He was 4 years old and much larger than the other cats. He would gaze calmly back at us through the window. Every time we went back to the PS he was still there. I knew that black cats are harder to adopt out, and many people prefer to have kittens. I felt sorry for him. Soon I thought about him all the time. My husband would ask, "Do you want to hold the kitties?" Yes. Simon immediately jumped onto each of our laps, one after the other. Even after that great introduction, I still wasn't ready to take him home. After a couple of weeks, I couldn't understand why nobody wanted Simon. Then I decided I wanted him.



Here is Simon:


Simon is the ultimate lap cat. He is the first cat to greet us at the door when we come home. He is not afraid of the vacuum and sometimes I have to move him out of the way, but he is terrified of thunder storms. He yowls when he plays with his toys. Bringing Simon home was one of the best decisions we ever made.

MySmartyCat  - Test your cat's intelligence!

My Cat Daisy Mae

The second cat to join our family was Daisy Mae. After we figured we could handle our allergies, we thought Abby could use some company. We went to the local shelter to look at the kittens. It was harder to choose than I thought because of the amount of cats that needed homes. I wanted to take them all to save them from the tiny cages and the overcrowding. There was a room that was about the size of my living room that had about a hundred free roaming cats. It didn't help that the air conditioning was broken (it was August). My husband and I saw a tiny tortie that seemed to have a good personality, but she had just been spayed and it was hard to tell if she was the one for us. We decided to go home and think about it.



The next day, we brought the children with us to the shelter with every intention of getting the tortie. The kids wanted to look at the other cats first. Ok. We still weren't sure that the tortie was a good fit so we went to the car to talk about it. My daughter suggested we should get a medium hair kitten that she found in another room. No way! Do you know how much work it is for a long haired cat? My husband said he liked the long haired too. Well, I guess I should meet her. Back at the shelter, the medium hair kitten played with the toys we offered her, and when she jumped in my son's lap, the decision was made.



Here is Daisy at about 4 months old:

Abby at this point was about 1 year old. Here are Abby and Daisy together:

Here is Daisy now, at about 2 years old:

We didn't know it at the time, but Daisy definitely has Maine Coon in her. She has very soft, thick fur, trills when she talks, and uses her paws almost like hands. She can open my cabinets, pulls her water bowl to herself, and lays down when she drinks. She is large at 12 pounds. She has a great personality and we are lucky to have her.

MySmartyCat  - Test your cat's intelligence!

Meet My Cat Abby

Abby started this cat obsession of mine. She darted out from the weeds as I drove by, a flash of white in the corner of my eye. I took her home in a box and showed her to my family. Both my daughter and I are allergic to cats and I didn't think we could keep her. Abby was a skinny, 1.2 lb fuzzball that my kids fell in love with immediately. After days of debate, we knew we couldn't give her away.

Abby aka Abigail, Gail, Abigail Kitten Marie, Original Kitty just a few days after we found her:

Here is a recent picture of Abigail. She is now 2.5 years old. (Chipotle is another one of my passions):

Abby considers herself the queen of the house. She tolerates the other cats, and it is rare to see her snuggle with one of them. She knows when it is time to eat and will sit patiently by her bowl and stare at me before feeding time. She is my husband's lap kitty. Abigail is the only one of my cats that will play fetch.

MySmartyCat  - Test your cat's intelligence!

In The Beginning - A Cat Blog

In the beginning there was a young girl, an animal lover, who dreamed of becoming a vet. Time revealed nasty allergies to cats so veterinary school was out of the question. Life went on and the young girl, now a woman, married a man with - you guessed it - a cat.

Yeah, that was me. I adjusted and as long as I kept my hands away from my eyes and took my meds, I did OK. The cat lived to the ripe old age of 18. For several years after he went to the rainbow bridge, I insisted that we could not get another cat. Then one day a tiny gray and white tabby by the side of the road changed my mind. Abby led to Daisy, then Simon, and finally the babies, Jack and Molly(aka Baby).

I have five cats, each with their own personality and issues, and I spend a lot of time on the internet researching anything to do with cats. Especially nutrition. I will probably write about that a lot. I plan to post pictures, tell stories, comment on cat news, and have a good time rambling on about cats.

Welcome to my cat blog.

MySmartyCat  - Test your cat's intelligence!