By Nathan
With a site named “pictures-of-cats” it seems only “proper” to post a picture of my two cats…sorry that it comes with a little auto-biography… Both are Manx rescues. Lucy is a 5 y/o white/black male and with a severe aversion to most anyone…even myself. My wife is the only one that can get close to him. We “adopted” him when he was one year old, or so we were told, actual age unknown.
He came from what we believe/know was a very bad cat mill. Even when Lucy shredded my arm the first time I tried to hold him, my wife and I decided that we had an obligation to take him out of that place, even if he NEVER comes around to me. It has been several years now, and he still thinks I am chasing him around the house when I walk from room to room and he gets scared. Progress is slow to say the least…but its better than the alternative.
Second is Squishy, another Manx rescue that we got when he was just weeks old from a different “breeder” with equally unacceptable conditions. He was being kept in an abandoned trailer with a full grown Rottweiler, they got along just fine, but obviously the cat was separated way too early from his mother.
When we got him he had worms, ear mites, and was severely undernourished: we did not expect to survive. Well, ten years later that little “Squishy” kitty is around 20lbs of “mostly muscle” and up until recently as healthy as can be. He is on the upswing from some constipation that had us worried about kidney failure. Still monitoring food and water intake.
Not pictured is “Stinkerbelle”, originally “Tinkerbelle”, but even she seemed to like her new name more….:). She was an “abused” breeding Siamese that we adopted after she was purchased by an unwitting breeder who had bought her not knowing the health issues that would prevent her from safely have more litters, so we got her as a pet instead.
Unfortunately, she finally succumb to complications from kidney failure after MUCH work on my part as I was in school at the time and home a lot. From “hydration” injections to pills, we did it all, and we did get another year out of her short life, about 6 years…she didn’t seem to mind the injections, but they were pretty tough on us…my wife couldn’t do it, so I did. She in fact became VERY close to me as I nursed her back from the brink. It still saddens me to know that the “industry” was responsible.
We also had “Caliope” who was my wife’s cat that ate the contaminated cat food that came out several years ago and eventually paid the ultimate price due to both the poisoning and incompetent veterinarians. I have had many more cats throughout my life. I was born into a family with two Siamese and a Burmese, many, many, MANY, years ago…My mother bred one litter of Tonkinese, before making the original three all pets. She sold all the Tonks, much to my dismay(though I had yet to be born…lol), and four cats probably would of been a bit too much with ME on the way too….lol.
We also have a canine rescue, that I must mention simply because of the absurdity of his parentage. “Early” is a Gerhuahua….yep German Shepard and Chihuahua, at least that what we are told…we thought we were getting a miniature GS, but got a giant Chihuahua instead…lol…still love him to death. He is doing fine now, but out of his whole litter(11) only two others also survived. Anyway, enough about dogs…:)…this isnt “pictures-of-dogs”….;).
So here is Squishy and Lucy both are “stumpies”…I do not believe either to be pure bred, but that doesn’t really matter to me. Yes both are full grown, just very different sizes. Squishy definitely exhibits “canine” qualities common with Manx. and follows me around the house most of the time, always interested in what I am doing(or waiting for a treat…;)). Typical American “couch potato” cats I suppose….:), but they undoubtedly an intricate part of our “family”…. for the record…I have never had a cat declawed, and never will: additionally all of my cats are indoor only, for many reasons, but mainly safety.
Maybe pic will work this time…if not I digress…
Thanks Nancy, sorry for not seeing your comment until now. 17 gets to be a pretty rough time for some/most breeds. That being said I had a Siamese that live to 20 I believe, he was older than I was… 7 at a time is a full time job for sure, I’ve had 4 cats at once, buy responsibilities were shared amongst my parents and I. I commend you for your commitments. Well what brought me here was a snapped what I think was a good pic, even for a cel phone and just had to share here for at least the name sake of the site…and I think Michael might get a kick outta the picture…:) Cheers!
Nathan you are a kind man.I love kitties too.I have 7 rescues now.My oldest is 17.
Thank You both for the kind words. One of my childhood cats was intentionally run over in the street in front of my house; talk about a lasting memory. The couple cats that my mother and I bought from breeders required not only a spay/neuter, no declaw, but also “indoor only” contract. Granted we searched the country for a “good breeder” that wasnt too far from us in Eastern Missouri. I have mixed feelings about rescues vs. “pure breds”. I know the satisfaction of rescuing an animal, however I also know what a really well bred cat (or dog) can do. Obviously I am also a fan of dogs, and that is how I really came to respect proper “breeders”. Short dog story, we were able to get a German Shepard(imported from Germany)from a breeder that determined the dog didnt have the right breeding qualities once they got him back to the US. We had been in contact with them for some time, but they were primarily breeding for police/cadaver/Schutzhund dogs, which they also trained. We were planning on getting a retired dog, but they made the imported dog “pet quality” for us and a short 10 hour drive later we had Uso Vom Frankengold. For a FRACTION of the “price” of their normal prices. He was one of the smartest and easiest to train dogs I have ever met and worth every penny. So there might be something to breeding. Especially when you consider how much is spent over the life of a pet, verses the initial cost of a pure bred. On the other side of the coin, my mother “recently” got a Tonkinese from a breeder, but he only lasted 5 years and died of some rare feline leukemia. Needless to say she was devastated. Bad luck I suppose…or maybe some bad genetics. Really is a conundrum.
Thanks Nathan. I am impressed with your desire to rescue and give these cats a good life. You have shown patience and tolerance.
I am also impressed by Squishy. He is a whopping cat.
You are amongst people with the same mentality as yourself.
lovely post!! God bless you Nathan for helping/saving all the babies. As Michael knows, I have 12 kitties — all adopted/rescued. They are all fixed and indoor only babies — mainly for safety as well. Two of my rescues were already front declawed, but I will NEVER declaw ANY kitty. ♥♥♥