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| Cali |
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Cali and Lili were adopted from our local vet when they were four
weeks old. They came from a litter of seven, are both
females, and are full of spunk, as you might expect.
Cali is part Maine Coon, weighing in at about 18 pounds, and is a very pretty, balanced, dark calico. She almost
has a raccoon face when you look at her straight on. She loves to play with water but tends to be a bit standoffish unless she wants attention, then there is no escape from a lap full of cat. Cali got her name, not from being a calico, as most think, but because she was so pretty as a kitten, reminding us of Hollywood starlet, and thus, California. Cali has extremely long whiskers, so her nickname is Whiskers.
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| Lili
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Lili is also part Maine Coon, weighing in at about 16 pounds, with tabby markings. She is more active than Cali, and appears to be the queen of the house, dominating the others, when necessary, by use of her size, power, and agility. She is also quite a talker, producing an interesting range of sounds that sometimes come across as sentences in "catanese." Of course we have no idea as to what she is trying to tell us, but we're sure it must be important. Lili got her name because she was so small when we adopted her that she reminded us of a Lilliputian from Guliver's Travels. Lili has a freckled nose, thus her nick name of Freckles. |
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| Bryce |
Bryce, Cheyenne, and Zora came to us as a litter of "wild" cats from a feral mother. They are the latest addition to the household, and we took them in when they were about eight weeks old.
Bryce appears to have some flame point siamese in him, with tabby markings. Obviously he has the blue eyes. As the sole male among the cats, he tends to challenge Lili for her dominate position, but so far he's had to concede her superiority. He weighs about nine pounds and, in spite of his speed and agility, he just can't overcome her greater weight, strength, and experience. In spite of his occasional wild side, he is affectionate and cuddly when he wants to be. Bryce got his name because his orange-brown markings over white reminded us of some of the colors in Bryce Canyon National Park. His nickname is simply Mr. Bryce.
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| Cheyenne |
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Cheyenne was the shy one of the three, thus her name. A calico, like her sister Zora, she is mostly white, marked with black and orange. She is the smallest of the bunch, weighing about seven pounds. She is very sweet and loves to be pet and cuddled, but is right in there with the others when it comes time to rough-house and tear around the house. Because she is so light, when compared to the others, we sometimes call her Fluffy. |
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| Zora |
Zora, a calico like her sister, is more black, with some white and orange. Her markings are so similar to Cali's that one might think they were related.
Zora weighs about ten pounds and is a bit more aloof than her siblings. Her name comes from the dark "mask" around her eyes, reminding us of Zorro. She has black freckles on her nose and has distinctive black spots on the underside of each of her paws. When she wants attention she sits up on her hind legs, looking something like a cute prairie dog, thus her nickname of Prairie Cat, or PC. |
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| Sandy |
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Sandy is no longer with us. At about 14 years of age he suffered irreversible kidney failure and spent the last year of his life losing weight and relaxing. He went from a high of about 14 pounds (part Maine Coon) down to 5.2 pounds on August 9, 2004, when we had to make that decision to end his pain. Sandy was a very good, gentle, loving cat. He will be missed. |
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| Dusty |
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Dusty was Sandy's brother.
He is no longer with us. Several years ago, in spite
of inoculations from the time we adopted him as a kitten, he developed
feline leukemia, began having epileptic fits, and one
day escaped from the house and, sadly, never returned.
He was good at catching mice and lizards, and, in spite of this photo, was a
very pretty and gentle cat.
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| DJ
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In 2002, DJ, our bearded
collie, was diagnosed with rectal cancer. He endured several
operations and a variety of medications, all in an attempt
to prolong his life. But by early summer of 2003 it was
obvious that he was on a downhill ride. When it was clear
that he was suffering and that his time was down to days
or hours, we had to make that decision dreaded by all
pet owners. To our great sadness, DJ is no longer with
us. He was a great companion, and he is greatly missed
by all. |
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| Nikos |
In the fall of 2005 we had to let Nikos go. He'd developed an inoperable cancerous tumor on the back of his tongue. He was about 15 years old, blind, and mostly deaf. So it was time for him to go on to play with DJ in the cosmic fields.
Nikos was a great buddy, a loving dog, and always willing to play. He was part chow and part border collie, with the personality of a border collie. We sometimes still see him out of the corner of our eye waiting by the back door to come in. |
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