In my spare time, I volunteer at a cat shelter near Austin. Over time, I've brought home a few cats from the shelter, but have accumulated most from just finding them as strays. At one time I had 16, and have 14 now since two have cross the rainbow bridge. Here are my favorite photos of my "family".
This is why I don't sleep too well sometimes:
This is Zach, my oldest. He had a 1-month diabetic episode about a year ago and I almost lost him. But he came out of it, and at almost 14 years old, he's doing fine. Zach is a character, and never met a stranger.
This is Zach with Kala (pronounced "kahla"). She's about 13 and has never been sick a day in her life. She's my constant companion.
This is Matt, who showed up in my backyard as a frightened stray. He's about 12 now. His health is not so great these days, but he's hanging in there. He's very friendly to me but afraid of other people.
This is Aubrey and Sadie. They showed up in my back yard as feral kittens about 9 years ago. They were ferocious at the time, but tamed up well and are the sweetest kitties you can imagine.
This is Marcus, who is about 10. I found him as a young feral cat near the UT campus. He has bonded with me and is very loving, but is terrified of other people. His feral nature stays with him.
This is Olympia, who I found with her newborns in a storm drain beneath a burger stand. Olympia has award winning looks, doesn't she? She's quite a nice companion and rarely leaves my side. She's about 10.
This is Snuggles, one of Olympia's sons. Snuggles is the biggest clown of a kitty that ever existed. He keeps me in stitches with his antics. As his name indicates, he's a real snuggler. He's almost 9. This pic shows him next to my old desktop, his favorite perch.
This is Max, another of Olympia's sons. Max is extremely affectionate and intelligent. He can be a real bully, though, and sometimes has to go to "time out" if he pesters the others too much.
This is Bugsly and China. Bugsly is the tuxedo cat, and he's another of Olympia's sons. Bugsly is a real character and loves to give head bumps. He also likes to sleep more than the others. China, the tabby kitty, recently crossed the rainbow bridge due to kidney failure. She came from a feral colony but tamed up very well, and became my all-time favorite kitty. She couldn't get enough of head bumps and face rubs.
This is Patches, one of Olympia's two daughters. Patches looks like a Ragdoll. She's very shy but sweet, and loves attention. Patches is almost blind (was born that way) but gets around the house with no trouble at all. She can even jump up on furniture, and rarely misses. Her eye doctor says she can see shapes and judge distance, but everything is extremely blurred.
This is Dusty. She has quite a story. I found her at the same burger place that I found Olympia and her newborns. Dusty had apparently been caught up in a car engine on a cold day, and was very badly injured. I took this little gray kitten to the emergency vet, where they did surgery to reconstruct her abdomen and legs. She ended up eventually having three surgeries. But she's fine and has just a few scars. Dusty is shy around everyone but me. She sleeps on my chest or back every night, all night.
This is Athena, who was found by the shelter about 6 years ago. I brought her home from the shelter about 4 years ago. She's super friendly and loves to eat! Unfortunately, she is ill with stomatitis, diabetes, and indications that her kidneys are starting to fail. She visits the vet very frequently, and they're doing a great job of helping her get through all this.
Finally, this is Bingo, whose owner (my elderly cousin) passed away a couple of years ago. I inherited Bingo, who is about 10. He had a terrible time adjusting to his loss at first, but eventually got through it. Bingo loves when I play the piano, and rolls around on top of the piano when he hears it (my cousin was also a pianist).
My cats love to watch squirrels: