"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
"Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods."
– Christopher Hitchens, The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-Believer
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Bob September 2018 - present |
We adopted Bob in September 2019 from Dumb Friends League in Denver.
We suspect that Bob wasn't properly socialized as a kitten. In his first year, he was returned to the shelter twice for biting incidents. We decided to take a chance on him anyway. He's very sweet with us, and for the most part, bites have been few and far between.
We were hoping he would be a friend for Juliette, and for a few weeks, he was. But he started attacking her ("aggressive play") and is pretty much in solitary now except for a few hours of "running around time" in the evening. He'll sometimes sit on our laps while we are watching TV, which we love. He's very good about going back to his room afterwards, and looks forward to his Temptations™ treat hunt.
Bob also has a broken tail, which he wags a lot. It's a tail like a bobcat, hence the name Bob. It does make a good third leg when he wants to sit up.
Bob's favorite toy is Da Bee.
| Zoey November 12, 2017 (adopted) - present |
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We adopted Zoey on November 12, 2017 from Every Creature Counts in Ft. Lupton, CO. She was a stray taken in by Weber County Animal Services (Utah) on May 12, 2017. They estimated her age at about two years old at the time.
Zoey was diagnosed with Cerebellar Hypoplasia, "a developmental condition in which the cerebellum of the brain fails to develop properly." CH cats are known for their "drunken sailor" walk, and Zoey is no exception. Unfortunately she is also prone to seizures, which we are treating with medication.
Despite the picture above, Zoey prefers to minimize potential energy. In other words, she prefers sitting and sleeping on the floor, rather than in a bed or on a chair.
Unfortunately, shortly after adopting Zoey, the shelter permanently closed. In 2018, Soul Dog Rescue took over the space.
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Juliette June 5, 2017 (adopted) - present |
We adopted Juliette from the Riverdale Animal Shelter in Brighton, CO in June 2017. The shelter estimated that she was about two years old. We gave her a French name because of her black beret. We chose a 'J' name after Carol's father John, who passed away in October 2016.
We refer to her as Heat Miser because she loves to sit on top of the heat register in the wintertime.
| Tallulah June 6, 2015 (adopted) - May 20, 2017 |
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We adopted Tallulah from the Longmont Humane Society on June 6, 2015. She was a little over seven years old at the time. Her previous owner had passed away. She was the most talkative cat you've ever met, and was especially attached to Jim. She was the last cat in the line of names beginning with 'T'.
Tallulah liked to eat catnip. We said she liked edibles.
We had to take her to the vet on May 15, 2017 after noticing an unusual weight loss over the previous several weeks. They sent her home with fluids and scheduled an ultrasound for May 17. Unbeknownst to us, and despite what her adoption paperwork said, she had never been spayed! Her uterus was cystic and infected, a condition known as Pyometra. Despite emergency surgery, fluids, antibiotics and pain medication, her body temperature never recovered, and sadly we had to say goodbye to her the following day.
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Tessa November 9, 2003 (adopted) - October 26, 2014 |
We adopted Tessa from Kitty Angels on Sunday, November 9, 2003. She was a feral kitten and only weighed about 2.5# (1 Kg) when she was taken in. She was about 8 months old.
In early 2005, Tessa was diagnosed with a portosystemic shunt, a condition that is rather rare in felines. Tufts Veterinary in N. Grafton, MA operated on her to correct the condition. However, there were complications. As a result of the surgery, she was left blind and unable to use her front paws. We visited her every night for a week, hoping for the best. The last night when we saw her, most of the tubes and wires had been removed, and she had shown marked improvement. We were able to take her home the next day! She learned how to scoot around the kitchen to get to her food, but we had to take her to the litter box. She sat in our laps almost every night. Despite what she had undergone, she never gave up.
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At first, we were surprised to hear Timmy hiss and growl at her - we have never heard that from him before. As you can see, they have become fast friends! |
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Tessa finds the shortest route to wherever she wants to go. This may mean crossing through the stair railing and jumping down in order to save a few steps. But she's also content to sit or sleep. |
Tessa went to the Rainbow Bridge on October 26, 2014. A week earlier, she began having daily seizures. She spent a week in ICU. Although the vets at VRCC could get the seizures somewhat under control, she subsequently developed respiratory problems. We didn't want to diminish her quality-of-life any more than it had been, so we made the difficult decision to let her go. She lived almost ten years longer than anyone thought she would! We were blessed and lucky to have her in our lives.
| Timmy June, 2001 - January 14, 2020 |
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We adopted Timmy from Kitty Angels in June, 2001. He was about 10 months old when we got him. He was trapped with a feral colony in Lawrence, MA. They neutered all the cats, notched their ears, and were going to release them all back into the wild. However, someone thought Timmy had potential to be a good pet - they were right, and we were lucky. We think he's named after the character Timmy from the animated TV show South Park.
Timmy had several non-critical health problems over the years:
- He never had very good teeth, resulting in many of them being removed.
- A few years after moving to Colorado, VRCC Ophthalmology removed a cancerous eye ("enucleation"). That didn't slow him down at all. In fact, he jumped up on the dining room table just a day after coming home!
- In April 2016, his thyroid was treated with radioactive iodine at CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
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It took a while for his brother Toonces to adjust, but they seem to get along fine now. Toonces will sometimes clean Timmy. |
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Toonces July 1998 (adopted) - October 31, 2018 |
We adopted Toonces from PawSafe Animal Rescue in July, 1998. We think he was born in April, 1998. He is named after Toonces the Driving Cat from Saturday Night Live. However, he really doesn't like being in the car, so we were never able to teach him how to drive.
Toonces loved catnip! He rolled his whole body in it, then sprinkled it around the house as he moved from room to room.
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This is a picture of him when he was a little kitten. |
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This is a picture from Summer 2000. |
Feeding time at the zoo!
