Where did you get your current cat(s)?

I'm wondering how others came across the cat (or dog), or cats (or dogs) they currently have. I grew up in the Sandhills of Nebraska with dogs, although once in a great while there was a cat around.

Then I went away from home after graduating from high school, and no more pets until many many many years later, when I moved back to the Sandhills (but not the same part where I had grown up), and involuntarily began acquiring cats.

I wish I had pictures of all the current cats to post here, but I'm still learning this "scanning" thing, and while I have photographs in real life, I don't yet have them all scanned, imaged, and photobucketed.

The first cat who came here was Abbie, in January 2002. Abbie, the senior cat, is mostly grey, with a little bit of white and a little bit of black, and probably about 8 years old.

One dark night, while looking out the window, I saw a van drive down the gravel road nearby, and a cat tossed out of it.

Now, I'm not a cat person, but this irked me, especially since a domesticated cat would have problems surviving in the wilderness. It's an all-too-common practice for people, when tired of a cat or a dog, to take them out into the country and simply dump them.

The next day, I borrowed an animal trap and baited it, setting it out for this cat. Two days later, during a heavy winter rainstorm, the cat took the bait. And so Abbie, who was immediately shot and neutralized, and has always been comfortable here.

About a week later, when glancing out the window, I saw another cat--the exact same cat I had seen dumped.

So I borrowed the animal trap again, and some days later, during one really bitter-cold night, the cat took the bait. Snow is grey-and-white, about half and half. She was too young yet to be neutralized, but got her shots.

Then a few days before she was scheduled to be neutralized and shot, she got out of the house and came back enciente, and so one had to put a "hold" on that.

In September 2002, she bore Junior, Apricot, and Floyd, all of them spitting images of herself, although Apricot was more black-and-white, than grey-and-white. They were great kittens, great cats.

Alas in May 2003, Apricot was crushed by a motor vehicle when crossing the road, and has since been missed very much, as she was quite a saucy personality.

Noticing my discouragement at the loss of Apricot, a neighboring farmer presented me (without my asking) Gordon and Harold, two long-haired kittens.

Harold as a kitten; no picture available yet of his brother Gordon, who was pure black

Harold is still here, and now the senior male cat. Gordon like Junior before him, mysteriously evaporated in May 2008.

George came here in summer 2003; actually I stole him, from a primitive, a DUmmie, who had neglected him. Horror of horrors, she had named him "Sunshine."

George in the summer of 2008

Unwilling to tolerate animal abuse, I simply took him, and the primitive, the DUmmie, never even knew it, and probably does not know to this day. George has always had ample opportunity to return to his old home, but even after more than 5 years here, he shows no inclination to do so.

Ellie came here on Christmas Day 2003; a city councilman driving down the highway had seen her, and as I lived in the house closest from the highway, dropped her off. She was a very tiny all-orange kitten, so small one could hold her inside the palm of a hand without any overlap. She also had a broken tail, weighed less than a pound and a half, and was infested with all sorts of parasites. Ellie has since remained pretty small for a cat, but remains healthy and chipper.

Ellie in summer 2008

Sometime after she had been shot and neutralized, during a late-March snowstorm, Ellie disappeared for some days, coming back with a busted-off back leg. The leg was successfully set, although it was a long spring, as she so wanted to romp and play in the great outdoors, but the cast and splint were about the same size as she was then, and such was not possible. But by early summer, she had healed, and has since remained healthy and vigorous.

Leo came shortly after Ellie, within weeks of January 2004; Leo was obviously a feral kitten (about the same age as Ellie), and refused to come inside. One night, however, when it was -20 degrees F with a 50 mph wind blowing, Leo came inside.

Leo the summer of 2008

I had hoped I was done acquiring cats; even though by this time, the time Leo came here, I had already lost Apricot and Junior, the number of cats here, and those two losses, sapped more out of me than I had thought possible.

But then.....in May 2008, about five years later, Gustav showed up. Gustav is about 10-12 years old, an ancient among cats.

Gustav in July 2008

Gustav came here dangling a busted-off front leg, which was repaired by the veterinary the following morning, in addition to the shots and neutralization. Gustav really really really wanted to be wandering the great outdoors, but was incarcerated here until the splint and cast were removed some weeks later.

Unlike Ellie, who had recovered use of all four legs instantly the splint and cast had been removed, perhaps because of his Great Age, it took Gustav some weeks to re-discover his fourth leg. Once he started romping and racing in the meadow here, I figured Gustav was leaving. Since late August, Gustav has shown up for supper perhaps six times, and I'm hoping as the weather gets colder, Gustav will make it a point to stick around here, inside, more.

While Gustav was still on the mend, when I was in the "big city," someone dumped a cat inside my motor vehicle (fortunately all four windows were down a couple of inches, and fortunately I got back to the car less than an hour after I had parked it).

William, the latest and youngest cat, the summer of 2008

Well, I hope that's all the cats for now, as it gets crowded in the wintertime, when all are indoors. The house is large, with plenty of acreage for each cat, but for some reason they always want the same space all the other cats want.

This place is, really, a paradise for cats.

The river that runs near; I am the only house on this side of the river

The cat terrain to the north

The cat terrain to the west

The cat terrain to the south, getting to the river; there is a grove of walnut trees on the right, outside of this picture

On the east of the house is the famous William Rivers Pitt, circa 740 cubic tons of antique swine excrement dating from 1875 until 1950, looking very much like a miniature Jungfrau; no photograph available yet.

Stanley (front): 9-10 years old. Got him from the SPCA about 9 years ago since we were down to one cat at the time and wanted Osiris to have a friend. Lost the tip of his tail getting it caught in a door about year after getting him. Sometimes is still scared of his tail. Has been known to chase labradors and is easily the dominant cat in the neighborhood. Named after Stanley Kowalsky because we'd originally planned on getting a pair and naming the girl Stella. He's my favorite kitty ever.

Oliver (middle): 1-2 years old. Showed up on our doorstep this past winter. We made him a little bed outside because we weren't sure, with three cats already, that we needed a fourth. Well, he never wanted to leave the bed so eventually we just brought him inside for good. Has a funny goatlike meow and the most brilliant golden eyes (which you can't see here). Named by our neighbors so we'd have an Oliver (Hardy) to go with our Stan[ley] (Laurel).

Charlie (back): 2-3 years old. Also decided to come to our house after we'd seen him walking around the neighborhood for several months. Used to sit in our window and look in a yowl until we finally made him a member of the family. Very quirky. Always jerking his head around with a confused look on his face. Named for both Charley the dog in Steinbeck's Travels with Charley and also Charlie Chaplin because of the little black mark on his nose. Likes to wrestle with the other cats, but usually meets his match with....

Phoebe: 1-2 years old. Probably the youngest, certainly the smallest, somewhat shy, but absolutely the most assertive. We got her from the SPCA after a while so Stanley would have a friend when our previous cat died. She immediately took to pouncing on him mercilessly even though he was over twice her size and has tended to provoke every cat we've gotten since. Has epic wrestling matches with Charlie. Very smart; always responds vocally when her name is called and has been known to be a retriever cat. Named for Phoebe Caulfeld from Catcher in the Rye.

We have about four more cats we feed that we see around the neighborhood that haven't been officially assimilated into the clan yet.

A few more pictures:

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