Kitten 24

After the loss of Tabbly Little, Spot seemed a bit morose and quiet, so it was decided to try and find him a new playmate. On Wed 16-May-2007 we picked-up "Kitten 24" from our local veterinarian. After 3 days he has navigated the whole house, most of the back yard (under supervision) and he knows the sounds of sights of food, bed and play. 24 is a quick leaner but he's a bit clumsy.

The Kittens (born late 2005)

The kittens named Tabby Little and Spot were purchased from our Veterinarian. There were originally 3 sibling kittens on display in the reception. The female (the prettiest) was taken shortly before we arrived, so we took the remaining boys. Bailey and Fluff were midly shocked by the arrival of the kittens for about a week, but now they all tolerate each other quite well. Tabbie Little and Fluff are informal friends and sometimes play together.

Tabby Little was found dead on 12-Mar-2007 in our neighbour's garden. Our vet determined that he was hit by a car and died of internal injuries.

Fluff (age unknown)

This muscle-bound tom cat started visiting at mealtimes in 1997. One night in late 1998 he decided to stay and become resident cat No.7 in sequence, the price of admission being a visit to the vet for you-know-what. Fluff has forgotten his wild and hungry past and now acts more like a puppy. Fluff likes to stand tall on his back legs, stretching upwards for attention. He pulls your hand to his face if you don't pat him enough.

Bailey (?-2009)

After a miraculously long life with a FIV infection, Bailey was finally overcome by symptoms and a related skin cancer on his eye and was put down on 22-Jul-2009.

The "ghost who walks" had been visiting irregularly for about a year to steal food from the residents. One evening in late 1998 he decided to stay for good, becoming resident cat No.6 in sequence. His registration tag said his name was Bailey and he was from the distant suburb of Flemington. How got to the opposite side of the city remains a mystery. Bailey likes to sleep a lot and seems to go into a coma-like state when sleeping. The picture shows Bailey with a bandaged let after a fight which we guess was with Silver (they absolutely hate each other). Bailey is now called "The Polar Bear", as he's approaching 9kg, even heavier than Ratbag who peaked at around 7kg. Bailey is very moody; sometimes he will cuddle you like a puppy and suddenly he will turn cold and shy away from being touched. His favourite place is on top of the cars in the driveway on a sunny day. Bailey returned a positive FIV test (feline AIDS) on 24-Sep-2002. He shows no direct symptoms of the illness in the 8 years since he was probably infected by Silver, but his poor immune system means he requires careful nursing for any health problems.

Tabby Little (2005-2007)

Tabby Little was found dead in the garden of our neighbour on 12-Mar-2007. He was about 15 months old. The vet confirmed that he had been hit by a car and died of internal injuries.

Ginger (2006-2007)

Ginger was a stray cat who arrived around mid-2006, nervously stealing food and hiding under the house. We trapped him in September and had him 'processed' and invited to join the family. Sadly, his time as a stray left him with a severe personality disorder which resulted in violent disputes with the other cats. Ginger could not tolerate the company of other cats and he caused such chaos and damage that for the first time ever we had to put one of our cats up for adoption. After 2 weeks the animal shelter reported that he could not be handled and he would never be adopted, so there was no choice but to have him 'put down' on 18-Jan-2007.

Meep (1988-2005)

A very old and frail Meep wandered out of the house sometime in early the morning of June 2nd 2005 and was never seen again. Despite an exhaustive search of the property and the house (inside and under), and a neighbourhood letter-drop, she has vanished without a clue. Meep was too weak to have travelled far, so her vanishing is a complete mystery.

Meep was rescued by Marcia's Mother who found Meep lost and wandering around a block of flats being intimidated by the other local cats. Perhaps due to her traumatic youth, Meep is a very timid cat. However, she's rather shrewd in her own quiet way and has a knack for finding the most comfortable and imaginative sleeping spots. Her name represents the bleating sound of her miaow. Meep prefers her food to be "cured" in the sun for a day and can often be seen eating desiccated scraps clinging to the sides of bowls long after they were dispensed. Even more disgustingly, she has even sniffed out and dug up dead birds for a snack. In July 2002 she started to lose weight and was diagnosed with renal failure. Treatment with Forticor is keeping Meep in quite good condition despite the weight loss and occasional dementia.

Kitten (1991-2004)

Kitten was last seen on Saturday afternoon the 29th of May 2004. She did not arrive for dinner later that evening and has not been seen since. She has vanished without a trace. Not a single clue to her disappearance has been found, despite a detailed search of the property and under the house, interviews with neighbours, a huge letter-drop, notes on street posts and notifications to all local vets and animal shelters. Kitten's disappearance is extremely unusual because she was so fat and lazy and was never seen outside of our property.

Kitten's original name was "Eeek" due to the sound she made, but now she's just called Kitten. She is one of the 3 kittens of Squeek, her brother and sister are living happily with other in-laws. She seems to have inherited a strong independent streak from her mother, so she usually only shows affection when she's hungry. Her favourite way of getting attention is to knock things off the table or pull all 200 tissues out of a box until they take the appearance of a still-life fountain of shredded paper. In her old age she has become rather tubby and has trouble jumping, possibly due to arthritis.

Blackie (age unknown)

On 20-Apr-2004 Blackie was put down after untreatable mouth ulcers and stomatitis caused him to stop eating. The onset of FIV symptoms was the fastest we have seen.

This cat started turning-up around dinner time to steal food in May-June 2003. His face, eyes and ears were scarred with dark red blotches and he clearly need medical attention. He was trapped in a possum cage and taken to the vet for an inspection and clean-up. It was found that he is FIV positive but shows no symptoms. The blotches and spots all over his face were caused by mites which had infected and blocked one ear so badly that he walked like a drunk for weeks. After being neutered, his tomcat smelling pee was so potent that the vet had to isolate him in a back room. Blackie vanished for 2 weeks then returned to visit for a few hours for 2 evenings, then on the 3rd visit he stayed overnight and made Nancy Street his home. He still goes out on mysterious walkabouts in the late evening for an hour or two, possibly visiting his old haunts. In August 2003 his pock-marked and scabby ugly face is starting to clear-up.

Squeek (1990-2004)

On 19-Feb-2004 Squeek was put down after becoming terribly weakened due to a combination of hyperthyroid condition and kidney failure.

The staff of the animal rescue shelter said Squeek (also known as "Good Girl" and "The Bitch") was found dirty and tiny in a muddy vacant lot somewhere in north Melbourne. Her name comes from the inability to make any sound other than a nearly supersonic squeek. A single planned pregnancy in 1991 produced 5 offspring, but only 3 survived the first 3 weeks. Despite being a fiercely independent sleek and athletic feline, she has less than exemplary personal hygiene (mostly a smelly botty). Squeek hates the company of other cats and finds it quite stressful to live with 5 other cats. Squeek loves to sleep alone in secret spots away from the other cats. When alone, her feral nature retreats and she becomes quite snuggly. In her old age she has become very keen on her "3 o'clock snack" where like clockwork she will come in and demand a snack of mince meat. Squeek was diagnosed with hyperthyroid condition in April 2003 and is on permanent medication for the condition. In early June 2003 she was treaded for stomatitis and requires constant medication for that condition. In July 2003 she required surgery to remove a large nerve sheath tumor from her back leg. See also: Squeek's Kittens

Silver (age unknown)

Two years after his arrival, FIV related illnesses finally defeated Silver and he was put down on the 10th of December 2002.

Originally called "The Silver Fluff", he starting visiting in June 2001 to desperately steal food at meal times. His fur was knotted and hanging off in clumps so he was trapped in a cage and taken to the vet for repairs. His very long fur is practically impossible to keep tidy, so he has to be shaved a few times a year [see picture]. Silver has FIV and is on permanent medication to try and keep his immune system strong and fight the severe stomatitis (diseased gums) he suffers from. His mouth is one of the worst messes our vets have ever seen and it's considered a miracle that he survives and can still eat. Silver seems to fight the pain in his mouth and battles through plates of food which have to be carefully selected for him to avoid bones and lumps. Every chair, couch and bed in the house has to be covered with drop-sheets to protect them from the stinking saliva that often drools from his mouth. Despite his terrible illness, he's a happy little fellow and runs around like a kitten at times.

Grey 7 (?-2002)

After using up at least 4 of his 9 lives over several years with life-threatening injuries, the toughest ex-tomcat of the neighborhood succumbed to multiple FIV related illnesses and was put down on the 18th of July 2002.

This big fat lion-headed tom cat started visiting around mealtimes in 1995. On occasional cold nights he would sleep inside, and sometimes he would vanish for weeks. On 3 occasions he had to be trapped and taken to the vet to treat life-threatening injuries. He was neutered in December 1999. Despite letter-drops to hundreds of residences in the neighbourhood, his origin and possible alternate source of food remains a mystery. In January 2000 he decided to stay and become resident cat No.8 in sequence. Within a week of staying, his borderline feral nature has vanished and he's turned into a attention-craving lap cat. In Sep-Oct 1999, a bite from this cat caused Greg to be hospitalised for 6 days with a finger and hand infection that was treated with an intravenous drip of high-dosage broad-spectrum antibiotics. Greg's right pointer finger remains permanently crippled. The name "Grey 7" represents his arrival sequence in 1995, being based upon the character "Gary Seven" played by Robert Lansing in the Star Trek episode Assignment Earth.

The Saddle Cat (?-2002)

Within a few weeks Saddle became ill with liver problems and ulcers in his mouth due to FIV. Although he seemed generally well in most respects, the mouth problems caused him to stop eating and he had to be put down on 1st of June 2002.

The Saddle Cat (usually called Saddle) timidly turned-up for dinner one evening and kept coming back. He was injured after a terrible fight with Ratbag and they both needed urgent medical attention. Saddle was trapped in a possum cage and taken to the vet for desexing and various "repairs" (it took 2 months to remove the tomcat smell from Greg's Volkswagon). Saddle has settled down and now he behaves more like a friendly puppy than a cat. He bounds around the house and tugs at our legs for attention and tummy rubs. In May 2002 Saddle was diagnosed with feline AIDS.

Minikate (2000-2002)

Minikate was injured by a car around the 9th of May 2002. She was rescued from hiding deep under the house and taken for emergency surgery to remove her damaged tail and repair the torn skin. For a couple of days she seemed to be recovering, but she suddenly deteriorated and died on the 13th of May 2002.

This kitten just appeared in the back yard one evening in July 2001, decided the food was good and moved in. Despite dropping 140 "lost kitten" notices around the neighborhood letterboxes, not a single response came back from someone who we assumed would be fretting the loss of this very pretty and good natured kitten. The arrival of Minikate brought the total number of cats back up to 9. Minikate has no idea about "pecking order" and thinks everyone loves her. She nuzzles all of the other cats and tries to play with them, much to their distaste. She has struck up a friendship with Grey 7, and it's quite strange to see this delicate kitten and the big ugly brute playing with each other and having boxing matches. Minikate has the distinctive "brush tail" that seems to be a feature of many cats in the neighborhood.

Ratbag (1983-2001)

Ratbag died of old age on the 2nd of April 2001.

It's not obvious from the picture, but Ratbag (also known as "Barge Arse") weighed-in at about 7kg, and we estimate his I.Q. was about the same. Before he got old and lazy, he really was a "ratbag". He would beat-up the other cats, he'd eat everything before the other cats could get a chance, and he'd disrupt and break things around the house. In old age he calmed down a lot and liked to sleep on top of central heating vents, and it was quite impressive to see how he completely blocked whole vents.

Little Puss (1982-1998)

Little Puss died of old age in September 1998.

(1982-1998) Little Puss (also known as "Pretty Girl") was one of a litter of "farm cats" born during the Melbourne drought of 1982. She once sat all afternoon staring at the base of a garden fence, we thought she had gone insane, but hours later she plucked a tiny grey mouse from its run and ate it head first (you could hear the bones crushing). She was a perfectly gentle and friendly lady otherwise, but I guess it's hard to shake-off the hunting instincts of a "farm cat". In her old age, Little Puss liked to sleep all day, preferably on top of a central heating vent.

Big Puss (1976-1990)

Big Puss died of old age in late October 1990.

Biography unfinished