Our Cat Family - 2023
It's hard to believe that it's been seven years since I have brought news and photos of our cat family to my website! All our "kittens" are now seniors! When I go back and read over our experiences beginning in 2010 I am happy knowing that all our hard work in the beginning was worth every single minute. Our six cats are all still with us and give us unconditional love every day. With their aging there have been vet visits for hypertension with Sally where she lost the vision in one eye, but is now on daily medication and slowly regaining her sight; arthritis with sweet Mama-Cat who may be as old as 14 or more; and renal disease with Sam who is thriving on prescription food especially for kidney problems and senior cats. But none of this has slowed them down at all.
Click on thumbnails to view photos.
The last cat to come inside permanently was Cloud and it was quite a journey. As you know, he used to stay on the ledge outside my bedroom window, but wouldn't come in. After a long time, he came inside if I left the window open as an experiment and finally after months of trying to get him to stay in for the night, he began sleeping with me and returning outside in the morning. We still wanted him in full time and it took a visit to the vet to have teeth pulled to make it work. After being given some obviously awesome pain meds, Cloud stayed inside gazing out the window as if he was completely stoned. After three days, he forgot he had ever been an outside cat! It took another few weeks to get him to "discover" the litter box which was quite an ordeal, but FINALLY he learned what to do and he became the last of our "feral" cats to become an inside cat for the rest of his life. Now he can have a long, healthy life without fear of injury or death from dogs, coyotes, foxes or being hit by a car. In addition, it keeps our birds, squirrels and rabbits safe!
Homer and I are introverts and homebodies so we really enjoy being alone with just the cats as company. They keep us busy since we like a clean, good-smelling house and entertain us as well as comfort us. They are our greatest joy. It's amazing to me that it's been over 12 years since we began the Great Cat Adventure and I am so grateful that these beautiful souls came into our lives.
