Our Cats

Here is my first pass at a web page about our cats. It's something I've been meaning to do for quite a long time, since our cats have been an important part of our lives. I'll probably add more content and pictures eventually. Although I've often tried photographing our numerous cats, it's always been difficult to get good pictures. They almost always like to chase the camera, so it's very hard to get a well focused picture.

Both Pat and I have enjoyed the companionship of cats from an early age. So it was only natural that we got a kitten shortly after we were married. Unfortunately, our landlord wasn't so keen on the idea, so we had to leave Dickens with Pat's sister until we got our own place a few months later.

Since we both worked full-time outside the home, we soon decided to get a companion to keep Dickens from getting too mischievous in our absence. Pedro and Dickens soon became great buddies, and shared nearly twenty years together. Dickens died at the grand old age of 22, and Pedro followed soon after. I'll probably add more pictures of Dickens and Pedro after I get them scanned. Click the thumbnail images to see larger pictures. Here is one I just scanned of Dickens (left) and Pedro (right) together on the bed.

We currently have three cats, Elizabeth, Daisy, and Jasmine. The next three pictures were among the first I took with our new digital camera.

Elizabeth is our oldest now. We acquired her and her kitten from an associate I worked with at NCR in the early '90s. We lost her daughter to a heart ailment a few years ago. Elizabeth also has a seriously enlarged heart which caused complications when we had her spayed. She usually hides when we have visitors, but is very affectionate. She is our all-time champion of lap cats.

Daisy likes to play rough, and sometimes may bite. If she needs to go to the vet, don't bother trying to put her in a cage - you'll lose! Throw a towel over her and wrap her up in it. We adopted her from a family who was moving overseas. It took Daisy nearly three years to become friendly with visitors. We had her for over two years before she would sit on my lap even for a moment, or tolerate being held more than a few seconds. It was almost a year before she would sit on the arm of my easy chair beside me. She enjoyed hopping across me from one arm to the other. Eventually she walked - very cautiously - across my lap. On a very few occasions she has laid on my lap for a minute or two. The first couple of times I tried to call Pat on our second phone line to come see Daisy on my lap, the sound of the phone ringing startled her and she bolted. She has the curious habit of dragging her heavy pottery water bowl across the floor. She puts one paw on the rim of the bowl and drags it a couple of feet out in to the middle of the kitchen floor.

Jasmine craves attention, & will get in your face if you allow her. She loves to chase thrown objects. When particularly playful, she will retrieve them. Both Daisy and Jasmine enjoy chasing lights. A laser pointer works very well, but you must be very careful to avoid shining it in their eyes. Move the light quickly around the floor and watch them chase the pinpoint of light. Jasmine is the youngest of our cats at about four years.

This page last updated Apr. 20, 2002.