Cats

Wanda Found as a three week old kitten in a flowerpot in a friend's garden, she was suffering from dehydration, exposure, fleas and a bad abscess on her shoulder. After several weeks of bottle feeding and many months of love and affection, she's blossomed into this little beauty. She's still very timid, but seems to trust us more and more, and is beginning to make friends with some of the other members of our cat family.

Destructo-Cat - Amy doing what Amy does best... Amy was found in the yard of the same person who found Wanda. She suffers from motor problems which give her a lopsided gait, and a serious lack of that famous cat "balance". She's our most unpredictable kid, and will go from loving affection to a clawing, biting menace in a heartbeat. We've accepted her on her terms and do our best to love her, while limiting petting sessions to a few seconds at a time.

Ralph Ralph was a four week old kitten who had been taken away from his mother too soon, and entrusted to a person who had no idea how to care for such a young kitten. He was malnourished, severely infested with fleas and suffering from acute respiratory distress when we rescued him. He's become one of the most personable cats in our family, and sports a wide range of personality traits, not the least of which is unpredictability, which results in a lot of belly laughs for us. All veterinarian personnel who meet proclaim him "a really neat cat".

Erroll We found Erroll one cold, rainy Friday night at the synagogue as we arrived for services. He kept trying to get inside and was rudely ejected with every attempt. We finally took pity on him and brought him inside and sat in the lobby with him until the service was over. Even though he was only eight weeks old, he'd already been in a fight and had a big chink missing from his right ear. He's an extremely mellow guy, and gets along with everyone so well we call him "The Ombudsman".

Elvis Our resident "clown". He was found, at the age of barely four weeks, in a Safeway parking lot. He's extremely spoiled, as we bottle fed him and fussed over him for weeks.

Nikolai His previous owners had him declawed, after which time he became unruly and unmanagable - a fate that often befalls declawed cats because of the extreme pain they suffer as a result of the declawing procedure. Somehow, he managed to get outside, and was subsequently hit by a car and suffered a broken hip, at which point his owners surrendered him. We found him at the local pet rescue adoption booth at the shopping center and were struck by his beaury. We were astonished to see him there the following week, and then a third week as well. We learned nobody wanted to adopt him because of his problems - he was unpredictable, he bit (hard and often), he was basically untouchable and couldn't be picked up, and he had an intense dislike of other cats. We adopted him with some trepidation because of those problems, but we couldn't bear to think of him never having a home. We kept him isolated for weeks and gave him huge amounts of individual time and attention, and he's made great improvement. He still bites occasionally, but is now pretty handleable and tolerates the other cats, for the most part. He'll even come and sit in our laps now, but only if we don't touch him while he's there!

Ralph, doing something "Ralph-ish".

Domenico and his little sister, Lucia Our friend, Joyce, found the mother of these two just as she was about to give birth to them and their four siblings. Joyce is one of those compassionate souls who rescues any and all cats she can, and does her best to find homes for her charges. We also adopted their brother Alessandro.

Domenico and Lucia

Domenico

10 cats out of 24 - probably the most we'll ever see in one photo!

Carmen She was found in a field as a tiny kitten by our friend June, another compassionate cat rescuer. Carmen was spayed at a free clinic under their TNR program (Trap/Neuter/Release), and, as she was expected to be returned to the wild, her right ear was clipped as a sign she'd been spayed. We intervened and brought her home, simply because we're suckers for black cats. Unfortunately, even after several years, she's never lost her feral nature - she's very nervous and, most of the time, still runs from us when we approach. The few times she holds her ground and lets us touch her usually turn into great petting sessions, enjoyed by her and by us.

Gerald At the age of 6-7 weeks, Gerald was surrendered by a well-meaning "rescuer" who had overdosed him with a dog-sized dose of Advantage (a potent flea killer). He was nearly comatose, but was revived thanks to the efforts of our vet. At the time of his rescue, he was a little gray guy, but, after a bath, was transformed into this sparkling white beauty!

Martina She's our feistiest kid - hates the other cats and, when she's not screaming at them, studiously ignores all of them. She tolerates being petted by us, but begins to nibble, quite seriously, when she's had enough. She has an insatiable urge to get into everything.

Yoda He stumbled into our yard one day from his home next door, bleeding from the nose, barely able to walk, and at death's door. We had "repaired" him on previous occassions when his owners wouldn't care for him, but this time we said, "Enough!" We snatched him up, patched him up, and never gave him back. Once a tough, street-wise Tom, he's still a bit of a bully with some of the other cats, but he can also be a cuddly, affectionate teddy bear when he wants to be.

Robert Found in a Toys R Us parking lot at about 8 weeks, he had a broken leg, was infested with fleas and was very hungry. After that tenuous beginning, he's extremely shy and spooky, but has made a few friends among the other cats. He prefers human company, though, and sleeps under the covers every night - even in hot weather.

Hildegarde This little gem is the jewel of the family. Found in a city park at about six weeks old, she spent the next two weeks at the vet with a raging fever and a serious urinary tract infection. To show her gratitude for being rescued she bit her rescuer, a woman who happened to work at our vet's office, so she spent her hospital time in the isolation ward. She came home with us and quickly became as much of a favorite as we allow ourselves to have. Almost five years ago, she was diagnosed with kidney failure and given six months to live. We began giving her daily injections of sub-cutaneous fluids and massive doses of love and affection, and, at age 14, she's still going strong.

Frederick The Gray This guy hung out in ours and other neighbors' yards for nearly a year. We had no idea where he lived, though he always appeared to be well fed and cared for. On a freezing, rainy December night in 2006, we found him crying pitiously under a bush in our yard with a badly swollen front leg that yielded a massive abscess. Surgery was required to drain the abscess (and also remove a badly abscessed tooth). He's obviously young and otherwise healthy, so he's recovering well. He's not too happy with being an indoor cat, but that's too bad. Like all of our cats, that's what he is now!

Michael (left) and Jenny. These two are the "patriarch" and "matriarch" of our herd. Michael is 17 years old and Jenny is 16. They were rescued one freezing December night from the next door neighbors, who left them outside all of the time. Michael's brother, Josef, and Jenny's brother, Boris, who were rescued at the same time, have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and are both hugely missed.

Clara Found in a box in a dumpster with her littermates (all of whom were dead), Clara was less than 24 hours old when she was brought to the vet. Her umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around her left hind leg, cutting off the circulation, so that the leg had to be amputated. She was a tough little cookie and survived though the odds were seriously against her. For her first six weeks, she lived at the vet hospital and, each night, was taken home by one of the veterinary nurses, and received massive doses of love and affection. We brought her home when she was six weeks old, and she's by far our most affectionate and well socialized kid, and also the smallest.

Domenico and his brother Alessandro in a cat condo on top of a bookcase. They love it up close to the ceiling where it's nice and warm.

Lucia and her brothers, Domenico and Alessandro, getting cozy.

Dmitri He was found in the back yard of a friend shortly after she moved into a new housing development. Thinking he might have moved with his humans into the same development and gotten lost in unfamiliar surroundings, she posted signs all over the neighborhood and at local vet hospitals. When no one claimed him after a month, she asked if we would take him because her other cats didn't like him. Hard to believe, because he's such a loving, affectionate guy, and all of our cats get along with him just fine. But, who can explain cats and why they like or dislike each other?

Clara and Wanda - two timid little girls who have become buddies.

Elvis

Carmen

Dmitri getting cozy in the track toy.

The vultures watching us eat dinner.

Sarah by sunlight. This girl escaped from her home somewhere in downtown Vallejo, and found her way into the lap of my friend Donnio, as she sat outside Mel's Roast enjoying a latte. Donnio immediately got on her cell phone and called to ask if we wanted a "Tortie". Since we didn't have any Tortoise Shell cats at the time, we said, "sure". By that time we were already at 20 cats, so what's one more? She was a petite little waif to begin with, but, despite our best efforts, she steals everyone's food, and has managed to eat her way up to 14 pounds.

Elvis unashamed.

There's nothing like an empty box to attract feline attention. Clockwise, from top: Gerald (giving the sniff test), Sarah (inside... giving her nod of approval), Erroll, Amy, and Domenico ("Box? What box?")

Diana. Another rescue from the local TNR program (trap/neuter/release - note the clipped right ear). From her very demure kitten persona, she's grown into a 15 pound beauty with the most luxurious coat of fur in the house.

LaVerne - one of a trio of beautiful little sisters - rescued from a friend's back yard.

Nikolai - still a bit of a handful, but he's come a long way in the last year. He's much more tolerant of being petted and handled, but still will happily take a chunk out of you without warning!

Sarah - always on the lookout for a new place to take a nap...

Thelonious is a former street thug turned cuddly house beast. He's a very fun boy... full of energy and loves to play.

Domenico, all 20 pounds of him, snuggling his favorite toy...