The Crazy Cat Lady.....

I am the crazy cat lady...I mean c'mon...I have 6 cats and I'm slightly nuts right?? hahahaha!

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you know I post pics of them regularly...they make humorous subjects most days.

How did we get 6 cats when I really was more of a "dog" person?

Well I'm gonna tell you today....settle on in with some tea & a snack my friends......

The ONLY picture I have of all 6 cats...of course its dinner time so they all appear in a flash meowing and following me around.  If you don't like cats don't come to my house at mealtime.

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Ten years ago the kid's gold fish that they won at the FAIR and lived for FOUR years ughhh...died.

So I took them both to PetSmart to get new fish and walked out the door with 2 kitties....you know because 2+2 = 10 in my house..LOL!  However both kitties came from the local cat rescue so we were doing a good deed even if I knew NOTHNG much about cats.

Those two kitties are named Poncho & Millie and they are siblings.

Poncho is all gray and Millie is pure black...both with beautiful green eyes.

They are now 10 years old and our 2 quietest cats and the two most likely to be bullied by the babies.

Mimi the alien cat...hahaha!

I don't have a lot of pictures of Poncho & Millie.  I tried to take some pics but she was very uncooperative the lil shadow she is.  We call Millie the cave dweller because she only emerges in the evening from her dungeon in the back basement.  Which shouldn't be surprising because when we brought her home she hid under a dresser for 3 days. She's the sweetest of all the cats, extremely quiet but she doesn't like to be around lots of people or noise...she also goes by the name "Mimi" or "Princess". (we have alternate names for everyone)

I took this picture of Poncho while I was holding him because he's very shifty...its like he knows I'm coming at him to get a picture...he smells the camera LOL!  He's Riley's cat but he's also pretty much my cat.  He used to be a real diva until he had surgery 5 years ago and then he became more laid back...he might've thought we would take him back to the hospital if he kept on with the diva-ish-ness!  He sleeps under my side of the bed at night and goes by the name "Poncho-Pants" or "Mr. Bear-Bear"...don't ask..that's just what I call him.

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Then we have the babies...not really babies anymore at 5 years old but they will forever be known as babies in our house.  Tinkerbell and Tucker are our second set of sibling cats and they also came from a local rescue.  I had just lost my other cat Windy (its a long story about Windy, but she basically adopted us and became my cat and was a beautiful siamese...then she passed away due to cancer) and my miniature schnauzer of 13 years had passed away as well.  I decided to work with the local cat/dog rescue after I lost Windy as a way to give back and help all those other kitties that were suffering.  So I went to PetSmart (do you see a theme here) to get some more cat supplies and the head of the rescue was there with a new batch of kitties.  Now this was after I had fostered about 10 other cats in the meantime.  Well one of those kitties looked so much like my Windy that I told her I'd foster him...well HE came with a sister...and ummm...they never really left the house for foster events because I kept them.  I kept assuring the hubs that I would but they kinda stayed...yeah that's another theme in this house.

This is Tinkerbell...aka Tink or SmellyBella...again don't ask.  The babies like to have their pictures taken...they also love people..they know no strangers.  They also are the most mischievous of all the cats I have.  "If it FITS, it SITS" is a good title for them because they squish into anything...baskets, drawers, bins, etc. Tink is tiny but mighty...she is the QUEEN of the house...she is the bully and she dominates everyone including her brother.  I might also mention that she is my "buddy" when I'm working or crafting...I use that term very loosely.  She wants to be hugging me, near me, on my head, on whatever I'm working on...basically just wanting attention at the least opportune time.

Yes that is Tucker in the kitty treat door...he knows how to open it the rotten cat.

And NO he never learned to NOT get on the counters like the other 5..sheesh!

Then we have Tucker...aka TROUBLE or "Kitty Boy"..he's nothing but trouble so its a good thing he's so cute.  He is the most personable of the cats (also my mom's fave) and he's pretty much James' cat when he's home...my cat when he's not.  He's the cat you can dress up, haul around, and take 100 pictures of and he doesn't care.  He also doesn't listen, never cares if he's in trouble and thinks he's part dog.  Both him and his sister were dropped off at the rescue in 95 deg heat, taped up in a box...can you believe that?  Their other sibling died from the heat and Tucker had a damaged voice box from being so dehydrated and sick...so he uhhhh BARKS, yeah he has a weird dolphin squeak and then a bark.  Both him and Tink took to my dogs like they were their mommas...they will still lay right next to them and clean them up when they allow it LOL.  

And then we have Snowbell...she weighs about 4 lbs but is a fluffball of white hair that regularly rolls around the floor.  She answers to Snowbella and the cracking of food cans.  She followed the hubs and kids home about 4 Halloweens ago and we took her in...she was malnutritioned, she had sticks and mud in her paws and ears..she was a mess.  I remember the vet saying she probably would've survived another week and then died because she was so sickly.  I bathed her that night and she never moved, she just seemed so calm and quiet I thought she might pass away that night.  She had been declawed so she was someone's cat although no one never claimed her in our neighborhood.  I was supposed to nurse her back to good health before I put her up for adoption...and well...yeah she never left either (see that theme I was speakin' of).  But for all that I did to revitalize her and get her healthy she PREFERS James...he is the King to her I swear.  She comes to no one else but him unless they are the bearers of food...so basically she puts up with me until he gets home LOL.  I don't have a ton of pictures of her either unless its on James' lap (like this one).  We think she's about 6-7 years old by the vet's best guess.

And last but not least is Winston...yes another rescue. Two years ago before Thanksgiving I got a call from the head of the local rescue asking if I could "possibly" take in a cat for the holiday...just for 5 days Suzanne that's it.  UH HUH...well I'm a sucker so I went & picked him up and he came home.  We put all new or foster kitties in the study on the first floor for a few days to get them used to the house, noises and for my cats to look at them through the glass french doors and hiss basically LOL.

Well he strolled on in this house like he owned it...might I also say he was tubby when we got him and he was only 2 years old.  PS..the top picture was him watching me do yoga...he lounges while I do all the work...its so cat-like of him..HA!

And yup you guessed it...he's now been with us for 2 years because he never left.  He is such a laid-back cat, he's playful and he could care less about the other cats...it's WINSTON'S WORLD and they are all just living in it.  And Alexa thinks he's hers but he pretty much loves everyone in the family.  Although he did sleep in Alexa's room and he's definitely been missing her since she left for college. Well in 6 more days he will get his "Alexa Fix" hahahaha!

So there you go...the story of how we got our 6 cats.  

I don't foster cats or kitties anymore because I had such issues letting them go.

And the hubs said I would be in BIG trouble if I got any more...so I don't tempt myself but volunteer for the rescue in other ways LOL!

With 8 animals in the house I feel like I'm just the human caretaker and living in their world...they are the kings & queens.  And they frustrate me on a lot of days...but I can't imagine our lives without each personality...truly!

Now I'm off to vacuum some furballs, clean up some cat mess and let my dogs outside......

And remember local no-kill animal shelters are always looking for volunteers and donations all year long but especially in the winter months.