Hi Everyone!

Here is the place to share a story and photo of your favourite pet(s).

I'll start this topic with sharing my cat, Mittens (hey, she came with the name, ok?) :lol: Five years ago I was told of a cat that needed a home and she could be seen at the local animal welfare society. She was being offered *free* because she had been traumatized and they didn't know if she would pull out it. So, I went to see her. She was in the back room in a large, tall cage with a upper platforms she could rest on. Her cage was positioned by a window with a blanket covering the side of her cage that was facing the inside of the room and other cats...seeing them really upset her.

Mittens was about 8 yrs. old at the time I went to visit. She had been with her Human partner since she was a baby. Well, the elderly woman (her human) got very sick and could no longer care for Mittens which is how she ended up where she was. Soon after, Mittens went into depression and stopped eating. One the young, female volunteers was so worried about her that she took Mittens home with her to an apartment she shared with a couple of other room mates. Mittens began to eat again and settled in. Soon after, the young volunteer, a university student was diagnosed with Leukemia (sp?) and needed to be hospitalized. Apparently the room mates didn't want the responsibility of looking after her so a couple of other volunteers came to take her back to the welfare society. However, the moment Mittens saw the cat carrier, she *freaked* and hid under every piece of furniture she could get under. They eventually caught her and took her back.

I sat in that back room on a stool next to her cage for 45 minutes and it was heartbreaking. After talking to her for a while, it was clear that she was fiercly angry and anti-social pressing herself against the side of the cage at the furthest point away from me. Eventually and very slowly I opened the cage door and put my hand inside. She was *not* impressed! Okay...a fear of hands was added to the list. I closed the door (after removing my hand, of course)and just sat there talking to her. Strangely enough, she moved to one of the upper platforms that went from the back of the cage to the front where she stretched out...facing me...and seemed to significantly relax. I didn't know what to do... they couldn't guarantee she would pull out of it. It was time for me to go and I needed to think about it. I said my goodbyes and slowly placed the end of a finger on the end of the plantform through the bars that Mittens was laying on. She then reached out a paw and placed it on top of my finger. I broke down and cried. That was it...she was coming home with me!

Five years later, Mittens is the Queen of our apartment although not without some lasting scars. She is happiest when it's just her and me and she gets nervous when other people are around. She has major *attitude* and still has a fear of hands. To this day, I cannot pick her up. She will get up beside me on the couch or in bed to snuggle but never *on* me. I can pet her only when she lets me know it's okay. Absolutely everything is on her terms only otherwise she growls and hisses and her pupils dilate...she is truly angry. However, she has come a long way since that first day we met and I love her.

I apologise for the length of this post...I just had to share her story. Here are a couple of photos:

Well.. Our cat, or actually, our borrwoed cat, maumau moquai always announces it's entry into the house. Probably because he wants to be fed. But still, we ended up going from 'pigeonkiller' to maumau moquai, losely translated from chinese that means: Hair monster .

He came to us through friends: A son of friends of ours got the oppertunity to work for Mercedes in USA. But he refused to go unless his cat would get a place to live that was very good. So they came to us. Now we are cat-sitting for what should have been 6 months. But he has with us for 8 months now, and the guy just got another year contract. guess MauMau is here to stay.

By the way.. The cat is certainly not bonsai-sized..






Oh, and in response to Leslies sweetie-pie.. MauMau was truely scary at first. I have found myself with his claws in my cheek, in the back of my head, and all over my arms in the first few weeks. The poor guy: Originally our friend got him from an animal shelter. Then he lived with our friend in a one-room appartment for years. And then he came to our place (we have a few more rooms than we need) and we love visitors! So that got to be nerve-wrecking the first weeks. I have however happily sacrificed my skin, to show who is really in charge. IT took about 3 months. Now he is a pure sweet thing, and won't harm a soul.

wow definatly has some bengal in his bloodlines..pure breds have his markings,but are more brownish but very large.
cat pics coming soon

So I already talked a little about my cats. There's Lilith or Lily for short.



She's the cat that I have such a hard time getting a good picture of because of her color.



She's a good cat and very sweet unless she's in a psycho mood, in which case it may look cute but "It's a TRAP!"
Then there's Munster. I named him that because he is so bad, but he's too cute to be a monster.



And My husband Zack named Lilith. Munster is a brat, he's sweet and loves attention but at the same time he gets into EVERYTHING. We had to child proof our pantry cause he was getting in there and shredding our bread. Not eating just shredding. And if you have food he's right there staring at you. I love both of my babies but sometimes I feel like their evil just wants to come out.

Lovely cats, Jenna. Lilith has that *dignified aristocratic look* about her where as Muster has that sweet innocent look that says "who me?" but really spells *t.r.o.u.b.l.e.*! :lol: They're adorable! Thanks for sharing!

My dog, Scout, is almost 8 months old. We walk 2-3 hours a day. Keeping busy and enjoying the outdoors.



And our exploring includes ...


He just loves it !!!

I have to introduce Scout's teachers and lil bro too.

The Mama ... Chloe



The big man of the house ... Simon



And his adopted lil bro, 1 week younger than Scout ... Artemis

Hi Angie,

Awwwwhhhh...what a wonderful family of pets you have! Great photos...each one shares a bit of their personalities. Thanks sooo much for sharing!

The picture of Scout and Artemis passed out was taken after a long night of frog hunting .. :S

They are delicious .. floured, fried in butter and a little hot sauce ...
mmmmmm

Of course, Ma says :sick:

I have 2 hedgehogs here named Sonic and Knuckles with Sonic being the gray one which is a a male.

I know this might raise some eyebrows because owning is prohibited in some places but I am pretty sure with mine as a friend who breeds them signed care papers for me so I could own them legally.

They have been with me for about 2 years already and have grown acquainted with each other already.