Any cat lovers here?

[bttb-rox!]

Aww, I'm sorry to hear about Calypso's FIV, Cal .

These pics aren't actually that recent, but they're the best I can get from this laptop for now.

My cat, Noodles -

This first one was taken shortly after we adopted him.

And these were taken over a year ago.

With his crinkle bag.

Sleeping...zzzZZ...

Conveniently positioning himself on the front page of the paper .

Playing with "Batty" - his cuddly bird toy.

I love this one, actually. The light was just right.

[emmasi]

Eeeeeeeeeeeee I want that kitty!!!

At the risk of having my babies kidnapped by stalkers and terrorists... here are mine:

Kimberly and Sasha

Kim by himself

Kim again, because he's much more cooperative than Sasha

[LisaCarmen]

Ii must say i'm more of a dog lover

i was attacted by a really evil cat when i was little, kinda put me off

Kittens are cute though

[valli]

This is my cat, Mily

[Zetti]

Aww. On Saturday Night I was watching tv and my nextdoor cats came and scared the hell out of my sister

[vale4eva]

Well, I'm not much of a cat lover to be fair, they kill mice and birds just for the hell of it which doesnt amuse me.

I wouldnt complain if they actually wanted them for food, but they only play with them and then dump them on your driveway

BUT! With that said, they are very pretty, and lovely to look at

And Hanne, no offence, but your cat looks a tad evil

Evil in a good sense though

I do love that type of cat, in fact its eyes remind me of a siamese.

Also love jet-black cats, totally gorgeous.

My neighbour used to have black cats with little white paws, they looked like they were wearing little bootys

So sweet.

Anyway, back to me hating cats ... MWA HA HA HA HAAAAA ... lol

[Cal]

This is the cat/thing I want:

It's a Lynx kitten!

[valli]

Awww, those are just so cute

I want one of these:

[superman's girlfriend]

My cat Celest and my sister.

[Symphony]

for cats; had them since I was six years old - always bringing home waifs and strays with me.

I remember my first two proper cats, Lucky & Rayne, were when I was 11 years old; saw them in a petstore selling for £5 each, and ran home to ask Mum & Dad for them. Mum told me she had to "pray to Jesus to ask him for advice" and that she'd let me know what Jesus said in the morning. Next morning 7am I was bouncing up and down on their bed, asking what 'Jesus said' to her - and she said that he told her to go to the petshop at 9am and look at them.

Off we went, me impatient as heck - and when we got there, I ran inside and saw a large SOLD sign on the cage; I swear the bottom fell out of my world. Shopowner saw tears coming and told me to look at the name under the sold sign - it was mine! My first two beautiful Calico cats; starting a lifelong love for calico cats. Unfortunately, Rayne died after a year, killed by a hit & run driver, and then Lucky too, was knocked down after six years - she had a broken jaw, bleeding in her brain, paralysed lower spine so I had her put to sleep... Very hard time.

Current cat, Robinson, is 13 years old and my eldest ever cat. Our Robinson used to be a bit of a mixed up kitty. She was born to a stray that we had taken in, and we rehomed all four kittens successfully. However, two days later, her new owners rang us and said "look she's too troublesome, take her back or else we'll have her put down" so naturally we took her back. What a change. She had left a happy, playful, curious kitten, well used to humans and handling [they were reared in our home] - and came back shivering, cowering, terrified, and hated being touched by people. I don't know what happened to her in those two days, but it can't have been good to have such a drastic change.

For all her life, Robs hit out at the other cats when they came too close, hated being touched, though she still slept indoors at night etc etc. She was always 'in' the family, but never really thought about as she liked to do her own thing. However, when Bambi [my feral-tamed cat] was pts some four years ago, I think Robs saw what I was going through, and perhaps she missed bambi in her own way, and totally changed. For the first time EVER, she would come into my room when I was crying, and snuggle up to me, and purr - and hit her head off my chin. She allowed me to pick her up, and cuddle her like I used Bambi - just me, not the folks or my sisters. Nowadays, she sleeps in my room all day every day [she's about 13], even whiel I'm living in Australia. She comes when I call her, and funnily enough, sits on command. I've never seen such a change in our cats - but truly I think she tuned into what I was going through, and wanted to help.

Me & Robinson;

Robinson, Bambi at the back, and Lucky to the right;

And then there was Bambi; the love of my life. Born a feral, we found her at approx 6 weeks old, in the backgarden; no idea how she got there [very high walls] but a little spitfire she was. I tamed her, after working with her for almost three months, and by then could finally touch her. One night, she followed me into the house, and never moved out. She used to come when I called her, sit on command, ride around the house on my shoulders, and sleep curled into me, under the covers of my bed. Bambi was my soul cat, and though she died on January 14th 2004, I still miss her terribly.

She was poisoned - don't know how or when, but woke up one morning to find her listless. fter the poison took over her body, we rushed her to the vet, who wanted to pts, but I begged him for an alternative, and so he gave me an injector, and liquids, and told me to inject two drops into her mouth on the hour every hour, and to come back the followng day if she was still alive. I later found out he told my mother he didn't expect her to live longer than a couple hours. She was limp, barely breathing, and so cold that the thermometer didn't register any life in her body. It was selfish of me to bring her home; I know that now, but I wanted to try. So, I took her home, to bed, and cuddled her, staying awake all night, and injecting the liquids down her throat as instructed. Just before 7am, she began vibrating; purring as loudly as she ever had before, and in that moment, I truly believed that she would get better; that it had worked. So I let out a roar that brought my parents running, and they couldnt believe it either; we went to the vets at 9am, with Bambi purring weakly in my arms, and he was speechless, admitting now what he hadn't told me before... Her organs were all failing when he examined her the day before, and he said that he didn't understand how she had lived for longer than two hours.

t that, I knew it was the end for us - and I knew also that she was holding on just for me - because of that bond, because, and I belive this, because <i>she</i> didn't want to go either. But, I had no choice now, and I held her as he administered the final injection, and, afterwards, held her to me at home for three hours as her body grew colder, and limper, and her bladder went, and I didn't care - it was the hardest thing I've ever done; letting her go, but there was no choice there. I still miss her so much, and even thinking of her makes me cry but - these things happen.

The collage I made for her, which hangs in my bedroom;

Apologies for the incrediably long and boring post; i could talk about my cats for hours!