[Gemme]

Originally Posted by betenoire

I have four cats. In order of when they moved in, they are:

Clyde and Charlotte - I got them when I was living in Vancouver in 2002. The woman who lived in the townhouse next to where I worked got evicted and left many of her pets behind. We never got the actual numbers because we couldn't catch them all - but both cats and dogs in her house were up in the double-digits. They were both around 2.5-3 months old, so I took them both and a friend of mine took their mother. I wasn't in a position to take on an adult at that time because I still had Mo at that time (he has since passed away) who was also a rescue and was aggressive with other adult cats, but I knew him to be friendly with kittens (for some reason.)

Clyde is gigantic, weighing in at nearly 20 pounds. He's not FAT however, he's just huge. I have never seen such large feet on a cat, and he is incredibly long. He chirps rather than meows, so I suspect that he is part Maine Coon. He is VERY talkative and a real lover - seriously. He loves love.

Charlotte is a diva. She has a naturally snotty voice (for a cat) and if you pet her she will often groom the area that you had pet afterward - I think she thinks I am dirty. She ignores me all day, but once I am in bed she asks to snuggle. She likes to be held like a teddy bear until I fall asleep.

Eliot is the only cat I have ever had who wasn't rescued from somewhere. A friend of mine (who lived in Michigan at that time) had a cat who had kittens and she posted the pictures on facebook - it was all over from there. I MADE Nick take me to Michigan to pick Eliot up once he was old enough. He is Clyde's best friend, and still (although he is nearly 3 years old now) tries to nurse on Clyde's belly. He likes foil balls, is very tolerant of my desire to put hats on him, and usually lays across my lap when I am on the computer.

Elphaba is just over 3 years old and has been with me for 2 years now. The woman who used to have her had a nasty habit of going out of town for WEEKS at a time and leaving Elphaba locked out on the balcony. It was summertime and hot and she had no food and water (aside from the food and water I would climb up on a chair to give to her) and there was so much feces on that balcony that you could smell it from quite a distance away. One night I decided that feeding her wasn't good enough - so I got up on the balcony and "stole" her. She was really thin and scared and sickly, so I got her to the vet and got her healthy and kept her. She is still not quite over her "I don't know when I will be fed next" impulse and breaks into my garbage can on occasion - but I forgive her. She's very friendly and no matter what I am doing or where in the apartment I am, she is always right by my side.

All of your cats match their names! So many times, I see animals and their people say, "Oh, his name is Snotrocket!" and I just think "But he looks like a Charlie, not a Snotrocket!"

Originally Posted by katsarecool

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Beaker!!! I know you did what is best for him!!!

I just returned from the vet for my daughter's cat Jeffrey. Beth noticed a nickle size wound on her hindquarters this afternoon. So I went with her to the clinic with Jeffery on my lap. She is still there and will come back home around 8 pm. She required sedation to stitch up the wound which turned out not to be an animal bite. I have been talking to my daughter for almost four years to keep Jeffrey inside permanently. This is not the first trip to the emergency room for this sweet girl calico who has the softest fur in the world. She will be coming home on antibiotics, pain medication and one of those halo thingies. Beth finally said Jeffery will now be indoors. The vet bill was $300! This cat got sick from something outside last year and the vet bill then was over $500! Roaming free outside is not a safe place for our pets.About the name Jeffrey; Beth was told it was a boy kitten when she adopted Jeffrey. And Beth did not know how to sex a cat. I finally had to break it to her that the cat is a girl.

I think it's lovely that you and your family don't abide by the gender police concerning the naming of your pets. Mimi for a boy and Jeffrey for a girl is fantastic!