Beautiful cats, elg5cats and everyone else. I am 'owned' by three small cats (Felis domesticus).
'Cat' is the oldest. he is all black and is a lover. He loves being held, almost to the point of smothering. He loves to rub on my hand, and will do this for 10-15 minutes in the morning. Even at the age of 14, he is still active, and is the one cat who is an 'escape artist'. Never likes the outdoors much, though. He will come looking for me soon if he gets out. (I can't let the cats roam here-- coyotes.
'Freeway' was literally rescued on the freeway in 2002. As far as I can tell, he is a Russian Blue, and is kind of chubby. I was traveling with friends, and we picked up a cat that someone was going to abandon. He immediately bonded to me, and so he flew home with me. He loves to be in my face, whether at the computer or in bed. Will knock reading material, handheld games, etc. out of my hands for attention. And, he wants to put his paws in my mouth! He is frustrated by the CPAP mask at night now, and has tried to remove it.
'Beauty' came to me in the fall of 2007. She is a special cat, because she came from the home of videotape machine inventor and broadcast pioneer Charlie Anderson. (Both Charlie and his wife are serious cat nuts!) She is a calico, but with a coat that looks like black and brown watercolor dropped onto absorbent paper. She is sweet and outgoing, but is also shy.
Beauty replaced 'CC', another calico female. CC was picked up with a kitten, as a feral cat. She was always very shy, but loved attention from me. Her internal organs were never quite right from living a wild existence, and I lost her to a particularly virulent cancer in January of 2007.
The larger 'kitties' do not live with me. They are next door at the zoo, or in other places. Kenya the lion, who is in my avatar, is a big, noble, beautiful black-mane lion who is also very gentle. He loves belly rubs, mane scratches, and being hand-fed. (All the big cats love being hand fed!) Kenya has two 'girls'. The first is Sierra, an older lioness who we do not breed anymore. She is sweet and living as well, especially with the keepers she has chosen as 'pridemates'. However, she is a snarling monster at feeding time! The second lioness is Serena, whom I helped raise. She is a fun and playful lion, although lions tend to be 'serious' cats. She is our current breedable lioness, and she has given us two litters of cubs. We have her with Kenya right now for breeding, but so far, no 'action'.
Rudy is a maneless male lion by castration. His previous owners loved him to pieces, and he slept on the bed with them at night (between them of course!). They only had to give him up when the husband had a heart attack, and they were unable to care for their animals after that. We had little problem adapting him to zoo life, and he is very sweet. Oddly enough, Rudy and Kenya are good friends, unusual for unrelated male lions. His human 'parents' visit often to make sure their 'son' is doing well.
We have a white tiger named 'Nikolai'. He is kind of unique because he is mostly Siberian. (The white gene is from Bengal tigers.) Nickolai is a very outgiong, playful cat who loves to play practical jokes on the other cats. Nickolai is a favorite with zoo visitors.
In memory: Hobbs the liger. Animals don't get any finer than Hobbs. On the very first day I worked at the zoo, he began to adopt me. For the next five years, he 'owned' me and made no bones about it. He was an enormous cat, weighing some 900 pounds. He also had an enormous appetite. Hobbs once ate an entire deer, bones and all, in one sitting! Hobbs' liver failed him in old age, and he died in my arms on February 23rd, 2007. This was truly the saddest day of my life. You can read my memorial to Hobbs at
http://www.lionlamb.us/hobbs.htmlTasha the tiger was Hobbs' cagemate. She outlived her big friend and protector for a year before a mysterious infection killed her. Jambo the lion was a special cat who had some genetic shortcomings. We all loved him though, and the combination of our love and 'lion love' helped him live for 8 years, far longer than he would have anywhere else. He was Nikolai's cagemate, and they were the best of friends. Nickolai mourned him for a long time after he died.
Other cats: I am also 'owned' by the cats of Tigertouch, where I frequently volunteer my time. John and Barb Williamson are about the best friends one could ever have.
http://www.tigertouch.org Nikki tiger demands her kisses on the nose. Detonator tiger, old and now blind (chataracts) is a very spiritual cat, and he helped me deal with Hobbs' death is a very special way. Nala the lioness is Det's 'seeing eye lion', and Rocky lion, Det's best firend, is his loyal bodyguard! Kicky cougar is now living inside. She is quite old, and we are enjoying our limited time with her. In addition to Tigertouch, I have big cat friends in Kentucky and southern Nevada. I take vacations to care for these cats when their owners have to go somewhere!