Critters

We've been focusing all the attention on our new puppy, Stella, lately so our poor cats feel neglected. Maybe that's because they don't let us dress them up in clothes. Stella has been wearing one of Jasper's t-shirts for the past couple of days. She doesn't want to take it off! I think green monster trucks is her color, don't you?



Okay, oldest first. Piewackett, my very first pet. I found her in the parking garage of my apartment building in Austin almost 17 years ago when she was just a wee kitten. She's been crotchety her entire life but now she's really milking the old lady stuff. She is a horrible treat beggar with the world's most piercing whine and is usually laying on my desk while I type. She's purring there right now.



Next up is Superchunk. He was a straggly stray found in a flooded schoolyard construction site, having been attacked by dogs. He almost lost a leg to gangrene. Chunk is a very vocal kitty with one blue eye and one yellow eye and a penchant for danger. He fights with anyone that comes his way outside, although indoors he is a super lover. He collects scars and is almost always on antibiotics for some kind of war wound. I just found a new one festering on his forehead. I am pretty sure our vet calls him "ka-ching" or "cash kitty."



T. Rex is a big, big boy. He was one of three brothers we found in my mom's generator. (Ming RIP) Rex was once a teensy orange fluffball and the star of my first blog button. Now he likes to lounge around and bask in his own glory. He's a pretty boy and likes to be admired.



Chief among Rex's admirers is little Nico. She is still semi-feral but allows me to pet her begrudgingly these days. She has a permanent crook in her tail and was also a stray we rescued from my mom's yard. She and Rex like to spoon and cuddle. It's almost nauseatingly cute. She was named for my friend Ellen's cat who met an untimely demise a while back. She looks a lot like her and also our beloved Lum.



Poor Fluffy is like the Peter Brady of our Bunch. He was the middle brother between Rex and Ming and somehow got stuck with the lamest name. He is a skilled bird hunter and also an expert snuggler on the rare occasions he feels like it. He's a long, lanky blonde with a chip on his shoulders.

Mouser is probably the prettiest of our cats and the only one with blue eyes. (Well, two blue eyes. Chunk has one!) She is a dainty girl with white markings who also happens to be a ninja assassin. I have seen her catch birds mid-flight and it is frightening to behold. She is also a foundling and still mostly feral although she will occasionally let me pet her. She spends a lot of time in the kids' playhouse, most likely plotting our demise.



And this is the one that should have been ours. He followed Stella home the other day on a walk and had no tag so we kept him overnight. He was an instant hit with the kids and charmed the socks off of us, too. He had a rabies tag so we called the vet the next day and managed to track down his owner, even though he'd already been sold at 7 months. I was so sad to have to take him home, to owners who have another un-neutered dog. If he comes back, I'm totally keeping him…