It has been said that behind every great man there is a great woman. And while I might not be a great woman, behind me, I have four amazing cats! Growing up, I was lucky to have a house filled with guinea pigs. My first was a giant fluffy boy, named of course after my favorite TV character at the time: The Fonz! My past includes a parade of piggies (Mopsy, Flopsy, Einstein, Smudges and Patches to name a few) and one even who survives today. Ms. Potato lives in Florida with our amazing friends. I was worried our 8.5 year old guinea pig would not make the trip to Alaska in one piece. She is loving her new home where she is read to everyday and gets to watch a painter in action.
Four cats did make the long journey to Alaska with us and, at the risk of sounding like a completely crazy cat lady, they continue to inspire my creativity everyday. Each is unique and each finds a way to make me smile (or shake my head) every day. Let me introduce you to my team!
The Boys
Grizzly AKA The Aloof Floof
I adopted Grizzly on December 28th, 2017 from the Tampa Bay Humane Society when he was five months old. It is here that the obsession started. Grizzly is a medium haired tabby and knows that he is the boss. If his favorite goo treat is even a minute late, he will not shy away from telling you. Loudly. Grizzly was the only cat in our house for almost 2 years and is the most reserved of all of the kitties. He likes to take his time to assess visitors and, if he judges you worthy, may allow you to stroke his majestic fluff. Hobbies include dreaming of being an outdoor kitty, naps on any soft surface, and brutally destroying any fishing pole toys.
Cathulhu AKA The Athlete
Lhu joined us from the Tampa Bay Humane Society on July 31st, 2019. I had been scouring the adoptables page incessantly until there he was: Little Puck. We rushed out of the house and were first in line to adopt the tiny little man. He was the picture of calm when we met with him. Sweet and sleepy the entire visit. We thought we were getting a very relaxed little kitty. Boy did he have us fooled. Apparently he was a little sleepy from his anesthesia when we first met him. Now Lhu vacillates between long powernaps and expert level goaltending sessions. He has never met a hair tie or sparkly ball that he did not like. His laps around the house are thundering and he was known to our last vet as "The Muscle Man".
The Sisters
Iris and Poppy joined the herd on January 2nd, 2021. We had been discussing adopting a special needs kitty after we moved into our new house in Wesley Chapel. The St. Francis Society Animal rescue had the cutest little ladies, Isabella Lightfoot and Clary Fray, and that one special needs kitty turned into two. The girls came from a hoarding situation and both suffer from visual problems. Poppy is significantly visually impaired and both girls require eye drops to prevent further progression of their vision loss. They were also a little inbred so they have bowed legs. They were returned to foster care twice before coming into our lives. Even with all of the challenges they have faced, nothing slows these two little ladies down! They have brought a new level of joy and chaos that I would not trade for anything!
Iris AKA The Trouble Maker
Iris is a cuddle bug at heart. She makes the best biscuits and can fall asleep on a comfy lap for hours. In this cinnamon roll state, there is nothing to fear. She knows how cute she is because when she isn't sleeping, you can count on Iris to be causing trouble. Whether it is tackling any other cat within arms reach and then getting sassy when they play back or hopping onto the counter and voicing her opinion about being removed, Iris keeps us on our toes. Her favorite pastimes include chasing the boys from room to room, stealing the warmest spot in the bed and singing the songs of her people when she is in another room and wants attention.
Poppy AKA Daddy's Girl
Daddy's Girl may be one nickname for Poppy but she has quite a few others. Nugget, Little Bean, Sunbeam Sailor, The Instigator, and Poppers are just a few of the others. If Ben wasn't a cat person before Poppy joined us, he most certainly became one after her adoption. Poppy's absolute favorite place to take a nap in on Ben's chest. She has the loudest motor and I should definitely record it to be used as a track to help me fall asleep. There have been nights where Ben has had to stay on the couch for hours simply because you can never disturb a sleeping bean. When she isn't resting her little princess head, she is out to get all of the other cats. Armed with lightning fast reflexes and less than stellar aim, the boys are good sports and play with their little sister. Poppy has also discovered the joys of heating vents and has established her corner sleeping spot next to the warmest in the house.
Final Thoughts
If you have made it this far, you are probably asking yourself one question: Is she a crazy cat lady? To that I'd say, aren't we all just a little bit crazy? Below, you will see the Cat Crazy graph. I don't believe the relationship between the number of cats in a house to be directly proportional to degrees of insanity. As the number of cats increases, there is a smaller increase in the level of insanity. Now I don't have a reference that I can cite for this theory, however, please feel free to use this as the evidence you need to adopt that special cat. Each person has to define the level of crazy that they are comfortable with. I've clearly got room for at least 1-2 more cats.
I think you portrayed Poppy a little falsly, a more accurate description would be "disruptor of the peace". All of your cats are adorable, I slightly disagree with the figure at the end with regards for more cats.
Poppy is currently in my lap purring away!