They've all been rescued from one interesting, troubling, tragic or near-tragic set of circumstances out there in the big, sometimes bad, world of homelessness. What they have brought to each other, to me and to everyone who knows them is the sum of their experiences and wisdom …and all framed in delight and not just a little good humor!
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Amanda is the old-fashioned girl her Calico dress would imply. Sweet and almost shy, she knows just how to manage it all and all in good time. Her birthday is January 1st (1997).
Grace is also among the formal (tuxedo) dressers and while she was not such an easy “catch”, she “friendlied up” immediately and made herself quite at home with everyone on the very day she returned from her initial veterinary care. Her birthday is April 4th (2001).
Julie nearly had to be released after she was trapped, got her health in order at the Vet and came home. She had a difficult adjustment and were it not for Richard and the bond they formed, I believe there would have been no loving choice but to release her. Many feral cats cannot make the transition to indoor life without breaking their hearts and spirits. I'm delighted to say that while Julie is not a lap-cat and certainly will not volunteer herself for any kind of physical closeness, she is safe and happy with us. Her birthday is December 7th (2000).
Rachel, at the time of this writing, still lives in her very special arrangements on the deck. We are making great progress and I am confident that we are in the last phases of preparing her readiness to come in. After her initial experience with trapping, neutering, etc., she was among those truly feral cats who have to be released . It has been my good fortune that she has chosen to stay close to home & enjoy the heated house I've had made for her. She adores the other cats and they are most welcoming of her. They spend a good deal of time “visiting” through the glass and or screen door. Now that the weather is improving, plan “B” will go into effect & I hope to tell you (soon!) that she is permanently indoors. Plan “B” is a bit complicated so I've decided not to bore you with it. Plan “B” is necessary because she (not unlike many cats who are truly feral & have been trapped once) is quite “trap savvy” and will not re-enter under any circumstance or condition. Her birthday is February 1st (2001).
Update on Rachel: On June 6th (2003) plan "B" was successfully executed and Rachel is now a safe & happy, exclusively indoor cat. Though one can never be entirely sure until it actually happens, all the signs of mutual interest between Rachel & the rest of the family (through the glass, as it were) have proven correct ....and we all live happily together!
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Raymond lives up to the reputation of the “fiery” redhead. He has the moves of a dancer and the expression of innocence when he’s up to the most mischief. His birthday is April 22nd (1996).
Jamie was a visitor to my garden during a record-breaking, icy January. Her hunger turned out to be her “friend” and after only a brief series of attempts, she went into a trap on the coldest of those nights. After the usual Veterinary attention, she came home where she has lived “happily ever after”. Her birthday is January 14th (1999)
Jordan is the only longhaired cat among us. He’s quite elegant as a result of his exquisite coat and it is matched by his inner beauty, as well. His birthday is June 19th (2000).
Jonah is the most amusing little acrobat. The things he can do with his body during play is nothing short of performance art! He’s a laugh-out-loud /laugh-a-minute little guy. His birthday is September 25th (1998).
Note: Jamie, Julie, Jordan & Rachel resemble each other so strongly that there’s every reason to believe they are related. The same is true for Rebecca & Grace. They all “grew” in my garden. Must be the magic catnip I planted there so long ago!
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Nigel is the well-dressed man in the tuxedo. When first found, his now elegant formal attire was rather tattered and he was a weary kitten. His good nature and strong spirit soon saw him past that and then past cancer at age 1. His birthday is March 5th (1995).
Rebecca. Ahh, Miss Rebecca. She was such an easy “catch”. She walked through the garden and straight into my arms. And that was the last time she volunteered for anything like that! She’s a handle & approach with care girl and that’s exactly what she gets. All dressed up in her tuxedo & high, white boots, she’s quite a fetching figure. Her birthday is February 1st (2001).
Robert is the head of the “Escape Committee”. His curiosity and interest in what is beyond our home has, fortunately, never been realized. As the years go by, his “plans” are less frequently instituted & I have fully recovered from those early attempts! His birthday is August 22nd (1989).
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Jesse ~ When Flippy asked me to say a bit about each member of the family, I decided to avoid the “war stories” that go with each of them and offer something a bit lighter…but I'm about to alter that decision for Jesse. I found him at Wolf’s Pond (a local place in one of the many preserved areas of Staten Island) where the wooded area meets the pond. Were it not for his snow-white color, I wonder if I would have seen him off in the distance as I did. His eyes and mouth had been taped closed with electrical tape and he was left (more likely tossed) there to meet a terrible end. I didn't know exactly what his situation was until I got close. Interestingly enough, when he heard my footsteps, he ran straight in my direction. The rest is history, as we say. Yes, his eyes are each a different color & the photo depicts them exactly as they are in person. His birthday is July 16th (1998).
Richard is the senior member of our tribe. He has welcomed and given all the others lessons in caring, sharing and a bit of mischief making. His birthday is October 12th (1987).
Trevor was not technically homeless because he was in a shelter but his future was bleak. I went to that shelter to deliver a talk on loss & grief for the veterinary staff and saw him in an isolation crate where he was on a “Bite Hold”. For those who may not be familiar with the term, it is used to describe an animal who has bitten someone & is being held to watch for the development of rabies symptoms. Everyone who works in a shelter or animal health care facility is inoculated with pre-rabies exposure vaccine and is not in danger of contracting rabies but the law requires that such an animal be observed just the same. There is no test to determine the presence of rabies in a living animal, he had been vaccinated for rabies in the shelter he came from (before being transferred to this one) and the “hold” was a legal formality. Barely six months old, he had been in two different homes, a shelter in Virginia and now this one. He was labeled as a behavior problem, unadoptable and would likely be transferred to a kill shelter when the Bite Hold was over. That’s how the so-called “no kill shelters” get around these things. They don't do the killing themselves but transfer them in “exchange programs” to another shelter that will execute them while they proudly advertise themselves as “no kill shelters”. The short road to the end of this story is that no one had “noticed” that this white, blue-eyed cat was DEAF! …a very common genetic variable. Of course he was biting everyone. Everyone who startled him, mishandled him, called to get his attention and when he didn't respond, quite literally went after him. The holding period would be over in another few days and I made immediate arrangements to adopt him. Discovered after he was home a few days, was a ruptured abdominal wall. The size & location clearly indicated it had been caused by trauma (probably a kick). It was surgically repaired without complication. He’s still a pretty “mouthy” kid but has learned bite inhibition and sign language. He’s also learned to simply look away when he’s tired of “listening” to me! His birthday is September 1st (1999).
