Our Cats....

Cuppie
When I was just a kitten, I was found locked in a truck and very scared. There were always a lot of us stray cats running around, and they were always having more and more kittens like me. This one couple tried several times to catch them. I now know that they were trying to get them homes (they are my Mommy and Daddy), but they were just too wild. There was a truck on their property that didn’t get driven very often. The back window of the truck had been left open and, unknown to them, my Mommy and my siblings were living in there.
One day a storm was approaching and the man came out and closed the window, never knowing I was in the truck. I was scared. I couldn’t get out and get to my Mommy and she couldn’t get to me. I was hungry and didn’t know what to do.  About a week later the man decided to drive the truck, I guess to get it running, and that’s when he saw me.  I didn’t know what he was going to do so I hid under the seat as far back as I could get.  They worked for quite some time to get me out and when they finally got me and held me close, they took me into their house and gave me food and water.  They started talking about the events they thought must have happened. They had figured out exactly what happened and what I must have gone through.  They couldn’t believe I was in there that long and survived.  Luck had it that he had decided to take that truck that day because prior to that it hadn’t been driven for months.

I was named Dixie (after Winn Dixie – the sponsor for the car that Nascar driver Mark Martin drove in the Bush Series at that time) but when my new Mommy would hold me, she would call me her little Dixie Cup, leaving me with the name Cuppie.  My name is still Dixie but everyone knows me as Cuppie.  Whenever they say my name I meow back at them to let them know I love them. It was a long road for me since I was so scared and wild.  It took many years but today I am living large.  I’m the queen of the house and I love everyone.  For years most people didn’t even know they had a cat, or at least never believed them, but now I make myself very comfortable on any lap that’s willing to hold me.  I finally expanded my safe area and I’m finally going upstairs to bed with them.  I’m still a little nervous from time to time but over all I love being a part of the family.  They said they couldn’t imagine our family without me. So, that’s Cuppie’s story and she’s sticking to it.

Thank you for allowing me (and Cuppie) to tell our story.

Toulouse
This is Toulouse, a two year old red & white tabby rescue cat. I found him at my work place tied to a tree in the parking lot. He must have been there all night long and he had wrapped himself around the tree - I got to him in the nick of time! From the moment I brought him home he settled in as if he had always been here. He knew he had come home. He made instant friends with my other cats and my rescue Labrador mix, Saffe, and has been the most joyous companion and best friend since that day. Every night he comes into the bedroom when I go to bed, comes up to my face with a little meow announcing his presence, licks my face, and then goes to sleep in his favorite spot on the rocking chair.

Pluskat
About eight years ago my son wanted a cat. I have always owned cats and love them very much. We contacted a cat rescue group and the gentleman brought us a whole litter of cats to pick from. We all fell in love with the boldest little lady in the group. She marched right up to the dogs and started to play with them. My son named her after a General in a war movie that he liked at the time, so her name is Pluskat. It is pronounced Ploskat. She was born wild in a garden but has never shown that side of her personality. She is a very devoted and loving cat who takes turns sleeping with each of us in the family. Her favorite pastime is playing with the dogs. Here she is as a kitten sleeping with Gus.

Stacha & Koala
Satcha and Koala (Satcha's Granddaughter) were 2 of the 22 cats in my sister's home when she passed on June of 1990. Koala was placed with friends of mine until she was 10 years old and they had to move away so Koala came to live with Satcha and I. Satcha lived with me for 19 of her 21 years. To love and be loved by these two beautiful feline friends, well it was a blessing really.

Bella & Maceo
I am owned by 3 Siamese cats. This is Bella and Maceo they are brother and sister. They are the King and Queen in our home. My Mother calls Maceo "Tony Soprano" as he is the boss.  One time bella got locked in a room and he came to her rescue, he opens doors. I cannot have a closed door in the house. They are both characters. They are both great talkers especially at 4 in the morning. Oh did I tell you they use the stairwell as a race track?

Jacqueline
My baby Jacqueline was found in the middle of the street about 11:30 pm at nite. My son saw her first and thought she was a piece of a rag.  She did not move, and when he went to look at her closer she was almost in a "coma" state.  He screamed to his friend that she was barely alive and brought her in the house.  He opened a can of cat food, put her face to it, and she ate the whole can!  She was so tiny we figured either someone dumped her or maybe the Moma cat abandoned her! She is so adorable I fell in love with her the minute I saw her.  She was very dirty and full of fleas so I gave her a bath with Baby soap.  She is so close to me that she sleeps with me cuddled under my face and snuggles with me every nite.  When I leave she cries for me and drags her toy everywhere.  She is so smart that she fetches her toys and brings them to me to throw and play with her.   You have no idea how much love and joy she has brought to me.     

Kid D
After 12 years as a Vet Tech, I still did not appreciate cats, never having been owned by one. That all changed last Christmas Day. My mom-in-law feeds the feral and dumped cats on her semi-urban property at the base of Mount Hamilton, and had a young tom that was a regular for 5 months. He was bold, fearless, and evidently, accustomed to people.  We met on her deck. He turned on his back, gave my his stomach, and I reached out tenatively. To my surprise, he didn't shred my hand! At that point I decided to take him and at least neuter him. I put him in our extra bathroom for the night, with a litter box, wondering how much he would spray.  When I went in to see how he was he sat in my lap purring. He had not sprayed at all; that was the deciding factor for me....I had a cat! Since then, he has been a constant joy in the household. He holds his own with my Weimaraner and Border Collie Mix. He is (still) learning to be an inside kitty, and he shares beds with the dogs on occasion. I'm astonished as to why I never had a cat before. He completes our household!

Billie & Sugar
Looking at a photo of Sugar and Billy it’s difficult to understand how anyone could have had the heart to abandon them, and yet that is exactly what happened. Sugar and Billy, along with two other magnificent cats, were dumped off at Buster Hollow where I have been feeding a colony of homeless cats for thirteen years. They now reside with my partner, Steve, and me.  Our previous rescue from Buster Hollow was a stunning, loving black cat named Turtleman. He was the love of our lives for ten years and is featured in several stories from my new book, They Had Me at Meow: Tails of Love from the Homeless Cats of Buster Hollow.

When we got the news that Turtleman’s cancer had returned and that he didn’t have long to live, we decided to adopt Sugar and Billy. We kept them separate from Turtleman because he could not tolerate the spunkiness of these year-old upstarts, nor their curiosity about the “old man” cat. Turtleman has since gone over the rainbow bridge, and although no one can take the place of him in our hearts, Billy and Sugar keep us entertained and happy. Someone else’s castaways have now become our beloved friends.