Sarah is hosting a exceptional Feline Fri over at her blog today. She's asked us to post most all kitties past times too present. I had quite a fourth dimension excavation through the archives. It was necessary to become pre-digital, too that was a trek dorsum through quite a lot of time.
Mike too I married inwards May of 1975, too nosotros moved to Phoenix inwards September of that year. I'd grown upwards alongside dogs, although I'm a born truthful cat lover. My woman bring upwards was pretty seriously asthmatic. She had a bad allergy to cats, too hence nosotros could never direct hold them when I was growing up. When Mike too I moved to Phoenix, it was exclusively a few months earlier nosotros got our get-go kitty at the humane society...a long-haired orangish ball of fluff kitten. We were told she was female, too nosotros named her "Bethany." We happened to survive driving on Bethany Home Road, hence what the heck? We've never been real imaginative alongside our names.
So inside a few weeks, nosotros became suspicious that Bethany was non a female. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 banking concern agree alongside a vet confirmed our suspicions. Bethany was already answering to "Bethany," too hence nosotros started calling her...um, him..."Benny." Over time, the mention was lengthened to its total potential of Benjamin. He was a swell get-go cat...smart every bit a whip, too real sociable. He was our get-go child, but when our actual children came along, he was hence practiced alongside them. Very patient. We called him the proud truthful cat alongside the golden tail.
While nosotros were inwards Phoenix, a stray showed upwards at our door. We started feeding her, too eventually, soft
Both kitties moved to Oregon alongside us inwards 1978. There were a few other cats inwards between, but I couldn't abide by whatever pictures of them. We had Tommy...literally, a barn cat...born inwards a barn across the way from us. We were i truthful cat downwards inwards our numbers, too hence nosotros took i of the kittens. Tommy was a truthful cat who loved snow, too it was fun to sentry him romp around inwards it when it fell. Also, at that topographic point was our Katie cat...a pretty calico. I can't believe I don't direct hold pictures of either one. If they exist, I couldn't abide by them.
There was also sweetness Willy. He came from a pet store, too he was besides immature to survive away from his mother. I'm told that removing a truthful cat from its woman bring upwards besides shortly results inwards a dumb cat. That would survive our Willy. He had the sweetest disposition, but he was dumb every bit a stump. We loved him anyway.
One of our funniest Thanksgiving stories comes from our Willy. He was such a tiny kitten, too I gave him some turkey giblets, every bit I ever do every yr for the cats living alongside us. Some cats honey them, some plough upwards their noses. Willy loved them. He hung around inwards the kitchen all twenty-four hours long waiting for his giblets. But every bit a tiny kitten, he ate hence much too his belly got besides big, too he savage over. We tried pushing him away from the dish, but he grrrrrrrrrrred at us. If you've ever heard a lilliputian tiny kitten grrrrrrr similar a dog, hence you lot know it's pretty darned funny.
He never got over his demand to suckle, too he liked to prevarication on the dorsum of the couch behind my caput too suck on my hair. He also liked to suck the buttons of a shirt.
We had the 2 cats...Tommy too Willy...and Mike was dead laid against getting a 3rd one. But I saw this pretty lilliputian daughter inwards a pet store. She was the cutest kitten I'd ever seen...and I've seen a few. So I took Mike downwards simply to encounter her, too he besides was smitten. We had to convey her home. It was nigh Christmas, too nosotros called her Krissy...as inwards "Krissymas."
She was the master of the Three Cats brought to the Three Cats Ranch when nosotros moved here. She remains our longest-living cat. We had to set her downwards when she developed kidney affliction at the historic menses of 19. Of all our cats, she was the biggest "talker," too the truthful cat alongside the most "Catitude." I'm told both are a trait of torties.
We also had this lilliputian cutie. Her mention was Tabby. We had her most a yr when she disappeared inwards broad daylight. There was a grouping of immature people living side past times side door to us. The twenty-four hours she disappeared was a twenty-four hours they had a raucous party, too we've ever idea somebody stole her. We called her Tabby. We had a housekeeper at the time, too our housekeeper was inwards honey alongside Tabby. Several visits went past times earlier I had the pump to say her Tabby had disappeared.
When nosotros knew nosotros were moving to the Three Cats Ranch, nosotros had simply Krissy, but we'd committed to taking inwards a couplet of stray kittens from a friend i time nosotros got settled inwards our novel place. Enter cats 2 too 3 of the herd at the Three Cats Ranch...George too Gracie. They were littermates, too they were tight.
George was the sweetest cat, too he was much-written-about when I get-go started this blog. It's a lilliputian known fact that he was a superhero crimefighter who went past times the mention of Captain Cat-tastic. He fifty-fifty wrote a blog for a piece until his crime-fighting duties got to survive besides much for him.
He used to become for walks inwards the woods alongside me. Sadly, he had an autoimmune disorder known as feline pemphigus. It caused our sweetness man child to itch too scratch bloody sores on himself. We were able to command the affliction alongside steroids for a practiced share of his life. Eventually, however, his status worsened, too the steroids stopped working. We had him for nine years, but he died far besides young. He had a practiced life alongside us, but the pemphigus made him miserable. He deserved a life alongside less pain.
Pretty Gracie was alongside us for longer.
She won a photography contender alongside this side past times side image. The details of the contender escape me now, but she won past times pop vote.
She was a shy cat, timid, too she was i of the few cats we've had who would direct hold been happy to survive an indoor-only kitty. When George, Krissy, too I went for walks, Gracie stayed nigh the identify too watched us every bit nosotros went.
When nosotros lost George, nosotros brought dwelling identify this lilliputian squirt. It's difficult to believe he was ever that small.
He was a rambunctious kitten...the get-go kitten we'd had since Krissy came dwelling identify alongside us. He may truly direct hold cured us of kittens.
Gracie's olfactory organ was definitely out of joint, but she made upwards to him eventually.
When Gracie died, he seemed utterly stricken.
We didn't hold back long earlier bringing dwelling identify some other cat...Maggie, who was most a yr one-time when nosotros rescued her from a local shelter. Pretty Maggie. We're silent hence distressing remembering Maggie. We had her exclusively a few curt months when a predator got her. If you've been reading for a while, hence you lot in all probability recall when that happened.
It was because of Maggie that nosotros built the catio for Smitty too whatever kitties come upwards next.
We silent allow the kitties out inwards the mornings, but their fourth dimension exterior is limited. The ease of the twenty-four hours too night, they're confined to their catio for safe-keeping. We've worked out a schedule that seems acceptable to them...by that I mean, at that topographic point is no whining to become outside...and it makes us to a greater extent than comfortable that we're giving them a practiced residual betwixt safety, exercise, too the liberty to explore that most cats crave.
So a few months afterward losing Maggie, nosotros took inwards lilliputian Sadie.
She's role Manx, which accounts for her curt tail.
Sadie was a nearly feral one-year-old (we're told) when she came to alive alongside us. She was real anxious too easily over-stimulated. This side past times side epitome is i of the get-go pictures I took of her when nosotros brought her home. You tin encounter her wide-eyed hold back of panic.
With lots of honey too attending to routine, she's settled downwards significantly. She loves to sit down on our quilt-covered laps, but she's silent uncomfortable beingness held. She was inwards poor wellness when nosotros brought her dwelling identify alongside a bad infestation of intestinal parasites the took several rounds of worming too antibiotics to clear up. Her coat was coarse, but she's soft similar velvet now.
It took a piece for Himself to cede some territory to her, but they're fast friends now.
And practiced traveling companions.
Finally, inwards my wanderings through the pictures of time, I came across my grandcats. These 2 are Cricket too Clementine. They're Erik too Mae's kitties. This flick is over a yr old, too they're bigger kitties now.
I've been working at getting amend "big kitty" pictures of them hence that I tin brand their pawtraits. These are the 2 pictures I direct hold of them hence far. This is Cricket.
They'll do, but I'd silent similar to larn a amend photograph of shy Clementine. She makes herself scarce when we're around, too hence it's been difficult to larn a practiced epitome of her. This is my best i hence far, too it powerfulness direct hold to do.
So at that topographic point you lot go. I promise you've enjoyed this introduction to all the cats I've loved before. For to a greater extent than feline fun, caput dorsum to Sarah's exceptional Feline Friday.