Pet stories and pictures

[Lyric]

Disclaimer: I know this post is excessively long. I want it as a journal entry, so I have to post it *somewhere*. I figured I might as well post here, and let others share their stories and pictures as well. :)

Meet the members of our four-legged family!

First up is Daniel. We rescued him from a field in rural Monongalia County, West Virginia. He was barely 5 weeks old, starving, worm-infested, earmite infested, flea infested, and barely able to stand. After some good vet care, Frontline, Strongid (for worms), and kitten food moistened with KMR kitten formula, he was completely healthy again within 2 weeks. He's thriving now, and is probably the most physically affectionate cat we've ever had. Daniel is EXTREMELY intelligent. Among other things, he absolutely loves to play Fetch. He came up with the game all by himself--we toss something crinkly and round, and he chases it and carries it back so we can toss it again. He's been known to do that for an hour straight. He sleeps in our bed every night, usually curled up between our heads with one paw draped over my face or ThinkBlue1966's face.



Next up is Byron. Byron was adopted from a no-kill cat rescue shelter run by the responsible owners of a local pet supply store. He was about 12 weeks old when we got him. He's a Maine Coon, rescued from irresponsible breeders who were keeping their "breeder" cats and kittens in squalid, miserable conditions in an RV camper outside of their home. Byron is the undisputed "king" of the house--even the dog respects his authority. He's neutered of course, but you'd never know it--he has all the easy grace and dominant presence of the cockiest tomcat in the world. He's also a humongous "lap cat". We lovingly refer to him alternately as "Poof Cat", "The Cat Rug", and "Broken-Dead-Cat". Broken-Dead-Cat came as a nickname based on some of his sleeping positions--where he appears to be twisted and broken in half. :rofl: Byron weighs about 14 lbs.



This is Poe, our gorgeous black panther cat. He's another one adopted from Animal Friends. Poe is easygoing and affectionate, and has what I call an "ecstatic purr"--very loud, very gravelly, with some moans and sighs thrown in for good measure. Poe has the most adorable (if annoying) habit of wanting to "knead bread" right on my belly while shoving his face into my shirt--not sucking on the fabric, just hiding his face. He does that all the time--it's quite cute, but my skin can only take so much "kneading" before I have to physically remove him. Poe is massively muscled--not the least bit stocky, just seriously strong. His favorite treat is when we crush up an egg (shell and all) in the food processor until it's completely disintegrated, and scramble it for him. (We give him the shell too because cats need to maintain the calcium/phosphorus balance in their diets). His nickname is "Poekitty" (pronounced "pokity"). Poe weighs about 14 lbs now--this picture was taken when he was about 5 months old, and only weighed 6 lbs or so.



Next up is Dorian Grey, whom we all call Dori. Dori is extremely shy. He was adopted from a rescue shelter the next county over, and had been taken from an abusive family who let their children terrorize the kittens. He's completely agoraphobic. The other cats like to sit in the windows and attempt to escape outside, but not Dori. He'll sit in front of a wide-open door and never consider putting one toe beyond the threshold. He's very affectionate with other cats and with his human family, but absolutely terrified of strangers--especially if they have children. If someone he doesn't know comes to visit, Dori hides under our bed until the Evil Interlopers have gone away. When we first brought him home, he hid from us for a week before he felt safe enough to venture out and get to know us. Dori is the most serious, precise cat I've ever known. Every step he takes is purposeful and measured, and he approaches nearly everything with concentration and focus--unless he's being petted. Then he licks you mercilessly. It's a habit I find adorable and ThinkBlue1966 finds rather uncomfortable--cats have awfully rough tongues. Dori is very round and stout, weighing about 13 lbs. He's going to have to start eating diet kitty food soon, we think.



The last of the feline members is Eliot. However, we never use his given name--we've called him Twiddlebug since he was tiny. Twiddle was rescued from a filthy home close to where my Mom lives. All of the cats there were kept outside, and the owners dumped a bag of cheap food in the yard once a week for 15+ cats to fight over. Twiddle was nearly starving and covered in burrs and fleas when we found him. Somehow he managed to wander over to my Mom's house, where she took him in, gave him a bath, and fed him. Then she called me. Of course we took him in. Twiddle likes to nap on the computer desk, between the keyboard and the monitor. At night, he likes to sleep under our bed, with Dori. When Twiddle first came home with us, he kept chasing Poe around trying to nurse, so we're guessing that Twiddle's mother must have been a black cat too. He has the most beautiful dense grey fur, and is incredibly soft to the touch.





The last member of our animal family is also the largest. Our dog, "Toby", is an AKC registered Golden Retriever. He's the only one that wasn't a rescue adoption. We found a breeder a few counties down who we got to know well enough to know that she wasn't running a "puppy mill". We spent time at her home--a beautiful place with acres and acres of green grass for puppies to romp in. We talked to her veterinarian--her dog and the puppies were WELL cared-for. The puppies had a whole room to themselves in her house, with a fenced-in grassy play area nearly an acre big outside. We had to fill out an application, come up with five different convincing references, and sign an ironclad contract before we were permitted to buy one of her puppies. We were glad it wasn't easy--that told us that she actually cared deeply about their well-being. We named him "Darby's Golden Oktober", but his call-name is Toby. On April 18th, Toby will be 2 years old. I trained him myself, and he is a WONDERFUL dog. I'd swear that he understands English. He's so incredibly smart, and loving, and playful. His favorite games are Fetch (he can do it for hours, literally) and he is a bit OCD about balls. He'd do ANYTHING for a ball. He loves belly rubs and brushings. He'll carry the brush to you and BEG to be brushed. He loves the water, too--he'll do his excited "tornado dance" if you tell him it's time for a bath. He sits quietly in the tub, though--very cooperative. He loves to lay there and let the water from the showerhead stream down over his body. He's almost fallen asleep that way before. I was considering the idea of breeding him if he turned out to be a "show quality" dog--he had the potential as a puppy. Unfortunately he wound up growing a bit larger than the breed standard, and his coat isn't as dense as it should be, so we're getting him neutered in a couple of weeks, if not sooner. We wanted to wait until he was past the 18 month old mark, to be absolutely sure. Now we're sure. Thankfully, his hips are very good--both of his parents and both sets of grandparents were OFA hip-certified Good to Excellent, so he got good hip genes. :)