If you know me, you know I am a HUGE animal lover. My love of animals comes from my mom and because growing up we always had pets (family members). When I was little I had turtles, it was a thing in the 70’s and we always had a dog in the house. Dad said “no” to cats after one that we had jumped on my back when I toddled down the hallway at 2 or so. He agreed only to dogs after that. He talked a big game about not liking pets but he was a true softy with them. Poco, Chappa, and Miss Mandy Rose were the pups I remember the most. Poco was a black cock-a-poo, Chappa was a small mutt of some sort that terrorized Mandy Rose, our big beautiful Old English Sheep dog. We had Mandy for 12 years so she is the fur baby my brother and I grew up with, and boy did she have FUR. We loved her so much that we went to JC Penny and had a family photo taken of Miguel (my brother), Mandy and me. Post it you say :). There are several Mandy stories I could tell, but we would be here for forever and there are other fur babies to get to.
Samantha was my black kitty and the first kitten I saved from a shelter. She was all black, rambunctious, and very talkative. We had Samantha for 23 years, or I should say my Mom did. When I moved to Long Beach to my first apartment I didn’t think I should take her with roommates and all so, Mom kept her home for me. By the time I had my own place Samantha was too settled at home to uproot her, besides I couldn’t leave Mom alone.
Next, along came Sly…..Sylvester was a Sizzler parking lot kitty. He was found crying in the parking lot and brought home to me and the rest is history. He was a little tiny, all black, thing and severely malnourished. The vet said I should give up on him but he miraculously got better and was my baby boy for 14 years. I should mention that food was his THING. He would eat anything I would eat and feeding time was serious. He had the all you can eat buffett since he had it so rough as a baby. He traveled from California to Texas with me….now that’s a story in and of itself…..let’s just say that Fabreeze is a fabulous product, trust me; just ask my mom.
Christmas of 2011, a few months after I lost Sly to a tumor, my Christmas present was Angel and Scarlett. Angel was a little grey and white, 4 pound, sneezey girl and Scarlett was my first orange kitten. I wanted two cats so that they had company while I worked long hours. I thought they would play together and be the best of friends…..HA! Both were saved from shelters. Angel had a meow that sounded like a wookie call and constant sinus issues. She sneezed all the time, no matter what we did, we could not get her over that, so we lived with our little hack ‘n’sniffer. We sure wished we knew her back story because all 4 pounds of her was what we called “ghetto fabulous”. She had no fear and was quick to stake her place regardless of missing teeth and no claws. We thought Angel was 4 years old until we took her to the vet and were told she was 8 to 12 years old with a hyperthyroid issue.
Scarlett was supposed to be 2 years old when we got her, although we really think she was younger. Most orange cats are males so she is anomaly and boy is she! She was twice Angel’s size but terrified of her and her wookie call, she decided that crawling into the fireplace was fun, and regardless of her enormous monkey toes and needle like claws she had no idea how to use them. Scarlett is also the first and only baby I’ve had that loves to do perfect sommersaults. She tucks her chin in, puts her head on the ground and flips right over. It’s not perfect every time but it is the cutest comical move I have seen a pet do. My girl wanted so badly to play and cuddle with Angel and she was just not having it so Scarlett got herself into everything and would sneak in cuddles when Angel was too tired to notice. Scarlett is just now, after 6 years, learning to cuddle with her humans. No laps and don’t touch her too long or she will leave. She is also a night crawler which is not fun at all. She typically wakes up between 5 and 6AM wanting love or food. Yes, I have resorted to poking at her during the day and telling her to wake up in retaliation or the hopes that she will finally sleep through the night and leave me be. So far it has not worked but I keep trying
Then along came Sissy and Smudge. Two, 18 year old, sisters that were my husbands parents babies. The girls grew up in Apple Valley California chasing and catching rabbits, mice, and other critters that roamed the open desert land. Sissy was a black baby with a white splash on her chest and paws and loved her treats. Treats were a must several times a day and she would come running for them if she wasn’t already in the kitchen waiting for them. She had the loudest purr motor I have ever heard. You could actually hear it across a room with the TV on.
Smudge got her name from the many colors she had smudged all over her. She was a beautiful calico and as many people have said over the years, one of the most beautiful cats they had ever seen. Now her beauty was a disguise of her fierceness. She had no problem defending her territory by backing down anything big or small that happened to enter her world. Sweet as pie and a cuddle bunny, lap kitty but don’t cross her or her sister or you will get the Smudge wrath.
As much as I love fur babies, 4 in the house is WAY too many but it was what had to be done at the time. Angel and Scarlett we called the “Ironwood Originals” (we lived on a street called Ironwood when we brought them home) and Sissy and Smudge we called the “Apple Valley Gang”. We had turf wars quite often. Sissy and Smudge were no strangers to brawling and they decided that they wanted to rule the roost. Sissy for some reason took on Angel and Scarlett earned a few scars from Smudge. They didn’t brawl “just because” they brawled when they didn’t like something, like cats do. For example, Angel would wack Sissy on the head as she walked by the coffee table so her little feisty ‘tude started it usually. Scarlett thought she had new playmates and the grandmas were not having it. So, Scarlett would attempt to play and Smudge would get her on her back and tell her what was what. We lost the grandmas, Smudge, Angel and Sissy in 2014 and 2015.
A few months later we saved my second orange beast, Cheeto. He was just a little kitten when we took him off a co-workers hands. It had been a long time since I had a kitten so this was new territory for me. Scarlett took a couple of weeks to warm up to him and never really wanted him to cuddle with her. His quirk was that he sucked his tail when he was curled up and getting ready to sleep. Cute and kinda weird but he was my boy. Cheeto unfortunately did not make it to a year old. He developed FIP which only affects kittens and has no cure. This was devastating as all fur moms and dad know.
Scarlett was an only kitty for close to 3 years and until Milo arrived on the scene as my Christmas 2018 present. There is a story about Milo on the blog about how he came to be a family member. Our new orange beast is a lover, lap kitty, and pure joy. He is healthy, happy and growing big and strong. Scarlett is starting to come around…..we are 3 months in…..so it is slow going. All those years that Scarlett wanted to play and cuddle and now she’s the grandma not having it. Milo is such a good boy and when Scarlett hisses at him he falls over on his side and throws his hands in the air as if he is saying “Uncle”. Scarlett is starting to play with him, I think its play because there is always a low grumble in her throat, and Milo is getting a little more sure about her. Every night Milo looks for Scarlett and tries to cuddle with her but he gets the “hiss and whack”. He is undaunted and keeps trying knowing that some day he will succeed.
Milo’s entire world is Scarlett and winning her over. What ever she does….he does. Wherever she lays….he has to be there as soon as she leaves. It is so cute to see him want to be just like her.
These are just snippets of my fur babies and not nearly enough stories of their antics, personalities, unconditional love, and pure joy they bring to our home. There can also be sadness, pain, and in the case of Scarlett sleepless nights, but I truly believe that the love and joy they bring out weighs it all. Besides, this history gave me a good reason to share some of the thousands of pics I have of my babies. I will update pics as time goes on……
Update: Ellie arrived in April of 2020. She is my COVID rescue and Milo’s birthday present. Her story will be posted soon. My little Tortie girl is a special one and the best present Milo ever received.