Happy World Cat Day!

Today we are celebrating cats. I never had cats as a child, only dogs because my mother was allergic to cats. My first cat Chica, who is still with me, came into my life almost 20 years ago. She started me on my path of caring for and rescuing feral cats and I have learned so much about myself and cats since then. My love for all animals is my passion in life.

To Be of Service
Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission - to be of service to them wherever they require it.
--- Saint Francis of Assisi

I am a humble servant to these loving creatures - both past and present....


Sweet loving Gerogie - littermate of Norm, Sam and Woody.



My first and dearest - Chica - a very spoiled ladycat.



Dear Clarence only lived with us for 18 months. He had cancer and finally died Oct. 2004 of heart failure. He was such a charming yet reserved cat. He won our hearts in such a short time.



Darby was found living under our house one winter - she is my snuggle bunny cat!



Sweetpea is a tiny long haired black cat who loves to sit on your lap and give kisses (French ones)! Yoko, a brown tabby, loves to sleep in piles of laundry, or high up on the closet shelf.



Lily is the feral mom to many of my white cats - she avoided the trap each time and had two litters before we could catch her and the kittens.



Norm, Snowball and Sam - Lily's first litter still love to be with each other.



Joey and Minnie are littermates and can always be found snuggling together. We lost littermate Leroy at six months old while they were still outside - he disappeared and we never found any sign of him. Another brother Nick lost his battle with cancer in Jan 2006.



Mamcita and her daughter Rosa are very shy and don't like a lot of attention. Manny was the other kitten of her litter but we lost him in Jan 2007 of a serious bladder complication.



Going from front to back - Two Spot, Smidge on the floor, Only and Tabitha are from Lily's second litter.



Woody - brother of Norm,Sam and Georgie. He is my very shy boy.



Ivy was the head female of the feral group I inherited when my husband and I bought our farmhouse. She, along with Momcat who passed in 2003, ran the group and kept things going. She is still the boss and running things now that she is an indoor cat.



Big Guy was the head male of our feral group and ran a tight ship! He kept the peace and ran off other tomcats that tried to take over. He passed in my arms Oct. 2004 and the group pretty much broke apart. I took the remaining ones inside since another male cat was chasing the old group off.



Al who is deaf, came into my life after I had lost Clarence and Big Guy within two weeks of each other. He helped me keep going with his silly antics and personality!

Today is catnip and treat day for all these lucky cats. Please remember to help out other animals who don't have caring homes!

For more animal posts check out Camera Critters and Pet Pride.