freakdylan wrote:MoonKnight1 wrote:I'm going to put some pics up here but I have to wait until I have enough time.
Damn this thread is going to get long, the crazy cat guy is going to add pics, lol.
I dont know how you do it, I couldnt take care of 1 cat let alone 10.
You are all lucky that I am just Crazy Cat Guy and not Prolific Picture Person because this thread could easily hit double digit pages.
Well, here it is: the highly anticipated, much delayed post - Pictures of Howie's Cats.
Just a little background so you know. I don't actively seek out cats to care for. I don't have to. They find me. I live in the middle of Richmond within sight of downtown but my neighborhood is fairly secluded. People don't really come through here much unless they live here or are lost. Virginia Commonwealth University is 3 blocks away, the James River is 5 blocks away and the enormous Hollywood Cemetery is adjacent along one side. I'm also right off the highway.
Every year around springtime when VCU lets out there usually ends up being several new strays, the kids either abandon their pets or they escape during the move. I have also personally witnessed (as have many of my neighbors) people getting off the highway and dropping off their pets before speeding off. The one time I saw it happen someone pushed a dog out of the car and took off. The dog ran off scared and confused. I tried catching up to the car but I was on foot. If I had caught them, well...
What it breaks down to is, we have an inordinate number of stray animals. Whenever I find a new one first I try to find out if it belongs to anyone. I have reunited pets with their owners more than once. If I determine that it is a stray I try to get it adopted. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. I had a female a couple years ago that was extremely pregnant. I found someone who wanted a cat and kittens and "Turtle" was adopted. If no one takes the animal I take it in to be spayed/neutered and a rabies shot then bring it back and release it in my neighborhood. Most of these cats tend to hang out close by the food bowls I leave out.
I'll start with the newest one first. This is
Archie. Nicknames - Archibald and sometimes I say Aw-Chee like Edith Bunker

He is special. He showed up in October of last year. I'm not sure what his history is but when I first saw him he had a terrible limp. His back legs wouldn't work at all and he just kind of hopped around. It took me a couple of days to catch him and when I did I didn't see any evidence of physical trauma. No bruises or bleeding or broken bones but his hips felt odd. I think he was probably born that way. He still has problems climbing and jumping but he is getting more proficient. Plus I give him lots of positive reinforcement. Over the winter I decided to make him an indoor cat because he was having a tough time getting enough to eat and I was worried that he might not make it through. He's been getting more and more comfortable with the indoor life and has started to fill out his frame. For a little bit there I thought he couldn't meow because I never heard him make a noise. Now every once in a while he will say something to me in a tiny little voice.
Next up is
Phoenix. Nicknames - FeeFee, Purr Monster

Some of you may recall a Forum Post of mine from last Spring on how I got her. Basically, she was "owned" by a family across the alley from my house. She wasn't necessarily mistreated but she was neglected. I offered to return her but was told (and I'm paraphrasing here) "No thanks". She is an incredible cat, very friendly and is constantly purring. She doesn't hiss and I've never gotten a stripe from her except accidentally. She has taken to Archie and treats him like a little brother. She plays so gently with him it's like she knows he needs extra care. Easily one of the best cats that I have ever had.
The other 6 are all outside cats. The story behind them is this: an elderly neighbor of mine passed away 4 years ago and his 2 female cats (not spayed) ended up loose in the alley. He had no relatives to take care of them and before long they both had a litter. Now, I love cats but I knew that if I didn't do something then very shortly I would have fifty of them. A girl from across the alley and I rounded them up and we each took half of them in and got them fixed. So, in no particular order, here are the outside kitties.
Sidler. Nicknames - Sidles, Fat Butt

He was the first of the group to approach me. I named him Sidler after the character from Seinfeld who kept creeping up on Elaine in her office. He sidled in. The same thing with this cat. I would be outside and all of a sudden I would notice this cat sitting next to me, he sidled up! This guy never misses a meal and is the obvious Alpha Male of the pride. Some of my neighbors have reported that he shows up at their houses regularly for breakfast, lunch or dinner. He is quite friendly as well, I can pick him up an throw him over my shoulder and he loves it.
Odin. Nickname - Odie

Odin is very cool. I like to name cats after historical figures (my boy Bonaparte had to be put down a few years ago

) and I liked the way his facial markings made it look like he only had one eye. So I settled on Odin. He is very sweet too, he goes limp when I pick him up and loves to be petted. He is a climber, always in the trees or on the porch roof. He is very slim and sleek, just an awesome cat.
Bandit. Nickname - Fluffy

Some of you may remember last year that Bandit had a bit of a problem. He was either bitten by something or hit by a car. He had a huge hole in his side and lost half of his weight. The vet actually told me that it might be better to have him put down. Call me selfish, but I wasn't ready to let him go. I got him medicine and kept him in my upstairs bathroom for 3 months to convalesce. I cleaned his wound constantly, kept giving him food and water and a soft bed and eventually he got better. It took a while but now he is back to his healthy self. He was always tough to catch before but now he comes right up to me and rubs against my legs. Talk about gentle, the whole time I was nursing him and cleaning his wound, which had to be painful, he never bit, scratched or hissed at me. He is a beautiful cat, people walking by my house are always stopping to look at him or take pictures.
Jezebel. Nickname - Jezzy

See Sidler photobombing her? I have always had a soft spot for black cats and Jezebel is a fantastic one. I will stand on my back porch and call for her and she comes flying out from wherever she was and come racing across the lawn to me. Before I could get her spayed she became pregnant and had a litter of four. I was able to find homes for three of them and my girlfriend took the last one and named her Leela (another great cat!). Jezzy is pretty friendly and will let other people pick her up, not all of the cats will.
Smokey. Nicknames - Smokes, Mama

This is the mother of most of the group. She can be a little ornery but is a sweetheart underneath a gruff exterior. I am usually careful when I handle her because she can get a little agitated. She has nicked me plenty of times but I know how to deal with her and can calm her down if she starts getting upset. She will swat at the others from time to time, keeping the kids in line!
Krazee-Eyez Killa. Nickname - Crazy or just Cray-Cray

This is one of the few cats that I don't pick up. And yes, his name is apropos. I named him after the character from Curb Your Enthusiasm for two reasons. One is that his eyes are kinda weird looking. The other is the fact that when I first caught him to take him in to the vet for neutering he didn't go easily. He chomped on to my hand and sank his teeth in really deep. I guess I won because he eventually got his nuts cut off but a couple weeks later Colleen compelled me to go to the hospital. My hand had swollen up more than twice normal size and there were black lines running up my forearm. The doctor said that if it had gotten much further I might have needed amputation. Needless to say, Crazy and I have an understanding. I don't pick him up anymore and he doesn't give me cat scratch fever.
Last, but not least, is
Mean Kitty. No nickname.

I actually like this one, even though she never lets me pick her up. She is the youngest one and the smallest one but she is also the feistiest one. She bullies the other cats and is the Alpha Female. Every once in a while I can pet her, usually when she's eating, but as soon as she realizes that I am touching her she splits. She is also the consummate hunter. She catches birds, squirrels, frogs, whatever.
Well that's it, needless to say I don't have a big rodent problem. I do have a bird feeder out front that I like to call the Cat Piñata.
I'll leave with this picture of Sylvester who passed away a few months ago at the ripe old age of 14. Bye Sylvio.

Thanks for looking! I got more if you want 'em!
Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny - C.S. Lewis