Cujo

Cujo is Leah's dog. He's part chihuahua, dachshound and besenji and he's a tiny thing. He was born at my folks' place and my niece asked them to keep him. She named him Cujo because he growled at her. Poor little guy kept getting beaten up by their big dogs and Leah felt sorry for him and told my dad to bring him here. When Leah called to set up his neuter surgery, she told them he was a little dog, but they were still amazed when she showed up with this little 20 pound yellow dog. He's cuddled up here with Flower and Blossom. He tolerates the cats pretty well, but fusses at them if they get too close to his food.

Zoe

Zoe is my dog. She was found with a broken leg in Llano. I adopted her and brought her home. She doesn't travel well and throws up whenever we take her in the car so we keep trips to a minimum. Zoe's very good with the cats and often bathes the kittens. Boo Boo likes to play with her and she sometimes gets a little rough with him, but then he bites her and they still get along.

Taj

Taj Xue (Ta Shoe) was put into our yard by a neighbor at 4 weeks. He was hiding in among some cinderblocks and wouldn't have been found if he hadn't HOLLERED at Leah when she came home from work. She ran him by the vet - he was badly dehydrated, but some bottle feeding and cuddles and he grew up just fine. He got his first bath from my dog, Zoe. He is definitely Leah's cat. He puts up with me, but he adores her! He developed Stomatitis and had to have his teeth pulled. It was pretty scary for a while. He wouldn't eat because his mouth hurt and got down to 6 pounds before the surgery. He's fully recovered now and is a chunk at almost 15 pounds.

Nefermew

Nefermew was given to us by a friend who was moving and couldn't keep her. She is 8, but VERY playful - she wore out the kitten the other day. Twist ties, milk rings, you name it, she'll chase it. Her favorite toy is a string of Mardi Gras beads. She cuddles on her own terms.

Rio

Rio is our Zsa Zsa cat. She flips that tail around like a boa and doesn't like "the peasants." She was found on Easter after a party. A neighbor had been feeding her, but his wife is afraid of all cats. Rio is named after the Duran Duran song "Her Name is Rio and She Dances in the sand" - she literally dances when she walks. Rio has been known to sit on the table and fuss at me or Leah until we put ice in the water bowl. Filling the bowl isn't good enough - in the Summer, there MUST be ice.

Solo

Solo was pretty much BORN at the Lion's Den. Leah found his mama (already in labor) at a nursing home. She brought mama, Cappy, home and we made her a "nest" in the bathroom. When she hadn't given birth by the next morning. Leah took her to the vet where they tried to induce, but that didn't work either so Solo was born via C-Section. He was the only kitten so he was named Solo. By the time he was 5 months, he was as big as his mama. He was a CUTE kitten and he's a sweet cat. He developed Stomatitis so he'll have to have his teeth pulled in July.

Tony

Tony was found wandering around in an apartment complex in San Antonio. We drove down and picked him up. He's 4 now and one of our cuddlers. He's got the sweetest meow and he's learning Rygel and Oliver's trick of jumping up into our arms. He's at the point of jumping into our laps.

Oliver

My nieces found this little guy behind their house. He was ONE WEEK OLD. We bottle-fed him and he's now a hefty 14 pounder. He's almost 6 now and spoiled rotten! He learned to jump into our arms from Rygel and is very proud when he does it. His other favorite trick is to climb into your arms and flip himself over and knead your face.

Sassy

Sassy is at least 18 years old. She and Henry had been living in a house with a man in his 80s and his 50 year old retarded son and the old man had to go into a nursing home and the son to an assisted living complex. The lady who had been fostering them was becoming concerned because she kept bringing them to the adoptions and nobody was looking at them. I fell in love and the lady wrote that we were fostering them then finally dropped them off their records. Sassy's original name was "Blackie," but the ex-roomate hated the name so, based on her personality, we renamed her Sassy. Sassy has NO patience with "the children" and is pretty opinionated. Her whiskers are almost all white now and she's moving a bit slower, but she still hollers at me when it's breakfast time.

Rygel

What can we say about Rygel? Leah calls him either "that white eared cat " or "the cat that will eat us in our sleep" He's the resident clown. Rygel is our "Uncle" cat. He's raised several kittens over the years. He used to jump up and pull magnets off the refrigerator. He jumps into our arms for a cuddle. There's some Siamese there and he's certainly got the voice.

He came with his mama, Sophie, 2 brothers and a sister because their owner was "bored" with the little family and gave them all to Leah. He LOVED canned food and from the back he looked like Rygel from Farscape so we decided it was the perfect name. His sibs we named Sirius, Orion and Andromeda and called the lot "The Star Cluster." Andromeda found a home rather quickly and we don't know whether the fella renamed her. Orion was renamed "Jack" and Sirius was renamed "Felix" We still run into their owners occasionally and they just love their babies.

Boo Boo

Boo Boo is one of our favorites.

Boo Boo was my brother's ex-wife's cat. She told me she had to give him and his sister up when they were about a year old because she was moving and couldn't take them with her. She never came back for him or even asked about him - he's almost 6 now. The only contact I've had since then was her calling to tell me his name was "K'boodle" and not to call him Boo Boo. He's playful and sweet, though you have to watch him because he likes to nibble on fingers so we've decided not to adopt him out. We found a home for his sister, Kitten, (renamed Cookie) and she's got a good family. Boo is another of our escape artists. He slips outside sometimes and just runs full tilt around the back yard, but if you sit in one of the chairs and wait, he will come to you when he's done and you can take him inside. He's great with the kittens.

Ping & Pong

Ping, Pong (aka The Wonder Twins) and their sister, Mei, were found in a box in Pflugerville at about 6 weeks old. A friend brought them to us and, while we found a home for Mei, rather quickly, we weren't able to find someone to take both boys as they were (and still are) inseparable. They're 6 now and still cuddle together. Ping was the explorer. He'd go out and look around then run back to check on Pong. Pong wasn't too interested in his surroundings if there was food available. They're still that way. Pong had to have all his teeth pulled last summer due to Stomatitus (nasty stuff - the gums become allergic to plaque and develop painful blisters - it's not SUPPOSED to be contagious, but we've had to do the same surgery on three of the cats) Pong recovered well once his teeth were removed, but he's still a bit clingy with me sometimes. I was the one who kept him eating when he was so sick and we developed a bond. Ping is very healthy, but can be short tempered sometimes - especially with kittens, but he's one of Leah's bed kitties and knows he has to behave with her.

Scamp

Scamp belonged to a friend of Leah's who died 11 years ago. He is the only survivor of the three that were brought up from Houston. He's a bit of an odd fellow and he's DEFINITELY Leah's cat! He tolerates me pretty well, but given a choice he'll pick her every time. I used to tease her about her "phantom" cat because I'd lived here for two months before i ever saw him. If I was home while she was at work, he'd stand just outside my bedroom door and make a "Ma Mao" call as if he was asking for her and demanding to know where I'd hidden the body. He's warmed up to me since then and will come to me for pets sometimes. He's 12 now.

Gizmo

Gizmo was another Cedar Park kitten. He was found with his mama, Honey, and two siblings. Honey lives with a good friend of mine. The other male, Top Cat, died of cancer last year and the female, Molly, lives in Quinley. Gizmo is six years old and still pretty feral, but he sleeps with Leah and jumps up onto her bed and demands pets. The ONLY time you can get near him is in her room. He spends a lot of time outside in the playpen and still adores his friend, Timus.

Shooting Star

My niece called me one Christmas that she had a present for me, but I had to come get it. Her step-father had brought this little snowshoe Siamese kitten home from a job site, but their dog kept trying to eat it. We weren't sure what to name her - she kept running around like a Siamese colored meteorite and Leah suggested we call her that. The ex-roommate and I said "What?" So we named her Shooting Star or Star. She's 9 now and still feral, though like Roni, we do get a pet in from time to time. We had a great escape at one point and Star wound up spending a few days outside. before we finally trapped her (Oh, the LANGUAGE!!!) Once I got her inside though, she collapsed on my bed and I got to pet her for about 20 minutes! You take what you can get with the ferals.

Gabrielle

A friend brought us this tiny orange and black kitten. Her neighbor had gotten her as a challenge - if she quit smoking she could have the kitten, but she couldn't smoke AND keep the kitten - since we have the kitten and she's now 7, you can guess which way the challenge went. She attacked EVERYTHING whether it moved or not. We were about to name her Xena the Warrior Kitten, but my friend called to tell us about HER cat named Xena so we named her Gabrielle (Gabby) and sent my friend a money order to get Xena fixed as a gift from Gabby. Gabby sucked her tail for a long time as a kitten, but she's since grown out of it. She will still lick her tail and make a face as if she's thinking "This used to be more fun." Gabby is one of our escape artists, but she never goes far from the house and comes in pretty quickly.

Roni

A friend called us about a kitten running around at a Chevron Station - we grabbed the trap and headed over there. We hung around, but the kitten didn't come near enough so we put some tuna in the trap and left it in the corner of the parking lot. When we came back the next morning we had a tiny white kitten with some faint Siamese markings. We named her Chevron (Roni) and she has grown into a gorgeous lady cat. She's still feral, but will let you pet her for a bit if she's in the right mood. She especially loves to be stroked under the chin. Her favorite toy is those little weaving loops or my hair bands. She will chatter away.

Timus

Timus came from one of the rescue groups - he had been dumped in a cardboard box outside the room they used for adoptions. He was never processed and Leah fell in love. She held him up and gave me puppy dog eyes and said "We don't have a white kitty" - couldn't turn her down, could I? He is named after a character from The Tomorrow People a British sci-fi show from the early 70s. He came with a nasty series of cuts on the back of his neck and ALMOST got named "Nearly Headless Nick," but Timus suited him better. We had a hard time with him - he was so sick at one point that his fur turned yellow. He's all healed now, but he has FIV (kitty AIDS) so he's not adoptable, but he's not a biter and none of the others have turned up with FIV so he's fine. He's a LICKER when it comes to people.