hellspawn, the lover, the goddess and the king

ie, my cats.

just wanted to post a picture of my kitties for anyone. it's my first adventure into actually putting pictures in my blog so bear with me. this could get ugly. but the cuteness level of the kitties will save the post, i hope. LOL

my first kitty ever is wylie irene. she was a very cute, very vocal, sometimes demonically posessed little tortiseshell with white whiskers. during the move from bemidji to the cities, she needed a place to stay, and moved in with dan's parents. this was supposed to be a short term stay; however, by the time i was ready to have a kitty in our new place, they'd gotten quite attached, and she got along well with their other two cats and dog...so instead of uprooting her, she remained, and is doing just fiesty-fine. (; what i don't have is a good picture i can put up of her...but i'll keep looking.

i do have good pictures of my quinn, my next cat. however, they're all prints, and i don't have a scanner...so this is a picture of a picture, but it'll do.

d and cathy brought her to us from a farm, where the cats were known to be quite friendly, and quinn was my little lover. the first time she got in trouble and was sprayed with water, she sat looking up for a good five minutes, convinced as only a farm cat can be that it was raining. (; the vet guessed she was about 7 months old, give or take.

when i brought her in to have her spayed, she was diagnosed with feline leukemia. i've got a post somewhere in the dungeons of my blog about quinn. she was just so friendly. the spot between her shoulder blades smelled like honey.

the vet had an experimental program of diluted meds to be squirted in her mouth every night (diluted meds that in humans are used to combat AIDs). giving cats meds is always an iffy business--hold cat, apply force, use the jaws of life to open them up and force the meds down their throats. quinn, however, was such an easygoing cat that she just didn't seem to mind. in fact, if you were in the door and not at the fridge prepping things immediately, she was right there reminding you of the fact.

we had her for a good 8 months or so before she started to get anemic, and it was about a month after she first displayed symptoms that we had her put to sleep. the picture above was taken the day before she died. i'd been taking her out on a lead to lay in the sun, and a year ago on july 4th weekend, it was beautiful outside.

*insert a moment of silence for my dear girl (; *

so then we were kitty-less.

about two months before she died, my friend cari needed a home for her kitty, shiva koja. a year before, her mom had passed, and she ended up with her mom's dog, kc. kc and shiva did NOT get along, and the cat had been living mainly in the basement since kc arrived. cari's three other dogs were fine with shiva; it was just a difference of feline and pug opinion. (; so the eater of worlds and vomiter of hairballs came to live with us.

i've got a better pic of shiva somewhere but have yet to upload it. so here she is, in all her glory. she's a small cat, about 7 pounds or so. her fur makes her look fat and fluffy, but i'm horrified to think of shaving that girl.

shiva is the oldest kitty in the house at 11 years old, and she is VERY opinionated. her little meow leaves a bit to be desired, however. she sounds like a cross between a cat and a sheep, i kid you not. when i get a chance i'll find the other pic i have of her--she's got a little gray hitler-type mustache under her nose that makes her look a bit like said dictator...and her take-charge attitude belies a cuddle-me, i-purr-like-a-harley, demeanor. i think she knows she's a goddess. dang it all. (;

lately she's seemed quite clingy. my friend rene just bought a home (yay rene!) and inherited a dog with the house. her older cats got along fine with him, and so did her youngest cat, spanky george, but three cats and a dog and a six-year-old in one house has got to be enough to drive you batty. she'd looked for a home for spanky george half-heartedly, and i finally said we'd take him. (no, rene did not name the cat...her daughter did. go figure.)

i couldn't see having a cat named spanky george, so went through my normal day of trying to see what the cat was going to tell me about his own name. i had it narrowed down to dan's choice, otto, and my choice, henry. henry just stuck.

the first day or so he was here, henry followed shiva around, trying to be friends. shiva played the prototypical old lady and was pissy with him, but they've settled down a great deal and i think may actually get along fine and dandy once shiva remembers that he's not going to ambush her, just eat all her food.

henry the red is quite the talker--i often think at 3 am that perhaps pavoratti would have been a better name, because he has got a Very Good Set of Lungs. he talks to us when he's anywhere. speaking of henry, i need to make the appointment to get him...fixed. shh, don't tell him. (;

the other upside is that having tiny shaped kitten food in the house has been easier for shiva to eat (she's got bad teeth) and she's actually put on a good pound since we got it. cari said she's always been just a teeny tiny slender little cat, but i think that it isn't going to hurt her to add a little bit to her frame. maybe it's my inner italian speaking, but she looks healthier, in my opinion.

so those are my babies, past and present. and my first upload! yay for me!

watch out...more pics forthcoming. (; you might want to invest in a good pair of goggles.