Our Cats
Daisy, Bella and Saša
Janet and I have three cats who share our home: Daisy, Bella, and Saša. Daisy is a Torby, Bella a big Tabby, and Saša is a Russian Blue kitten.
Daisy
Daisy is the first cat we ever had, was born around February of 1994 and first came to live with us in April of that year.
When she first arrived, although she was only a few weeks old, she had already developed most of her key personality traits.
Daisy is very mischievous and is sometimes very naughty. Although we have done our best to discipline her, from time to time she will still sneak into the kitchen cupboards, jump up on the counter or tackle the feet of visitors to our home. But underneath it all, she is really a good cat, who is very friendly and loves to play.
Daisy is a Tabby/Tortoiseshell cross (also called a "Torby").
Bella
Bella is the third cat we have ever owned. She was born around August 2005.
In early February 2007 we heard from a friend that there was a need for a nice female tabby to be quickly adopted. We contacted the owner by email and phone, and once we saw Bella's picture we knew she was the cat for us.
Bella came to live with us on February 13, 2007 - so she was a kind of Valentine's present. She is a very healthy cat, and full of energy. Although for a brief time she wondered what had happened, within a few hours she was sniffing the furniture, establishing her territory, and letting us pet her. Within a few hours we introduced her to the other cats, and after a bit of hissing everyone calmed down and seemed to quickly adjust to the new situation.
Bella quickly established two favorite places to be in our apartment. She likes to lie between the coffee table and the loveseat when we are watching TV, and when she needs privacy she burrows under the couch cushions and hides - but positions herself so she can see what is going on.
Bella had an interesting life before we met her. For awhile she was a stray living in Santa Ana, and she has been a Mom - she had a litter of kittens of her own 2006, one of which Janet was met. (Don't worry Bella has since been fixed). She is much bigger than any of our other cats, weighing 14 pounds, and has very pretty eyes.
Saša
Saša was born around July of 2007, and went to live with a family who temporarily adopts 'rescue cats' shortly after her birth. Answering an ad in Craig's List, we went to adopt Saša on December 7, 2007 and brought her home.
Saša is about 90% Russian Blue, with some little stripes that indicate a little bit of Tabby. She has all the wonderful personality traits of a full Blue, and has that really nifty fur that they come with too!
Saša was sick with a cold and worms when we got her, but she is now in great health, and is full of energy. I have put up a couple of movies on YouTube demonstrating this. One such link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgPWHTQs9LE
After some initial shyness, she has come to interact well with the other cats and has become a much loved member of our little family.
For eleven years, we also enjoyed the company of another cat - our beloved black cat Sammy, who passed away on March 28, 2007.
Sammy
We believe Sammy was born sometime in 1991. She was a fairly standard housecat of no particular breed, and was completely black. Being a black cat is probably why her original owners named her "Sammy" - which we guess was short for "Samantha", the name of the lead character on the Bewitched television series.
Sammy came to live with us in February of 1996. We weren't quite sure how old she was, but we believe she was about five when she joined our family.
Sammy's original owners, the ones who named her, weren't able to keep her for some reason, and she ended up in the Vancouver SPCA pound in early 1994. She didn't enjoy being there, and became very sick. She was also distraught by the presence of the other animals, and she pulled out all the hair on her bum.
Teary, depressed, and ill, Sammy was a very sorry sight and seemed destined for oblivion. However, in March of 1994, Kevin and Lauren Martineau (Lauren is Janet's sister) came to the SPCA looking for a cat. Kevin was drawn to Sammy, and Sammy pushed up against his hand when he placed it at the front of the cage. Although it was apparent she would be difficult to care for, Kevin and Lauren adopted her.
We were quickly introduced to this new member of our extended family. We liked Sammy so much, in fact, that it wasn't long before we got our own cat, Daisy. Daisy and Sammy did not get along however, and so the cats rarely came along when our two families visited one another. Sammy took awhile to adjust to her new surroundings in any case, and through the summer of 1994 she spent most of her time underneath the Martineau's bed.
Sammy gradually grew to have more confidence around people, and she began to have better health - both mentally and physically. Unfortunately, Lauren developed an allergy to animal fur and so, when the couple moved to Armstrong, British Columbia in 1996 to an apartment that didn't allow cats, Janet and I volunteered to have her stay with us in the West End of Vancouver.
Initially, Daisy and Sammy did not get along at all, and it took some time before they would come across each other without hissing. However, after a few months they got over this, and within a year they had become fast friends.
Daisy and Sammy came with us to California when we moved to Irvine in November 2000. Although she hated moving on at least one previous occasion, Sammy adjusted very well to her new digs. In fact, California seemed to agree with her, and from 2001 to 2004 she enjoyed what we affectionately called her second kitten-hood.
By 2006, Sammy had slowed down somewhat, and started to get a bit thinner. In March 2007, we became concerned when she suddenly lost a lot of weight and stopped eating. Taking her to the vet, we learned she had kidney failure, and it was while she was there that she passed on. We were fortunate to be present with her during the time of her passing.
We miss Sammy greatly, but are happy that we got to share a good portion of her life with her. We are also glad that she got to meet Bella, and introduce her to the 'ropes'. Sammy was a great cat, and she helped to make our home a very happy one.
Last updated on Saturday, January 12, 2008
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