Furry Family

How do you classify family? You have your mother, your father, your sisters, brothers or if you are married your husband and maybe your kids. I have an interesting extension to my family at home, and maybe some of you do too. My husband and I do not have children per say, but we do have pets. We don't have one kind of pet; we have a blended family of sorts or a menagerie if you will. They are the furry part of our family tree. Each branch of that family tree has an interesting and loving story behind how they came into our lives. Some of our pets were from rescues, some were adopted from friends or even found. Some of our pets were bought from breeders, and some were born right in front of our eyes. We were lucky enough to have these little furry creatures wander into our lives, and I would like to explain their stories to you. A little background about the animal family members that have been with us over the years.

Ophelia is the eldest girl in our family. She is a little Boston Terrier that came into our lives fourteen years ago as Daddy's little holiday surprise. We call her Opie and she kind of thinks of herself as a bigger dog than she really appears. She has been with us through thick and thin, throughout most of our married life, and is the kindest, gentlest dog you'd ever come across. Since she was raised with cats, my husband and I call her "cat/dog." Curley our first cat, was her first playmate, and her second playmate is our fourth cat Kirah. Now she tries to play with all of the cats, some to their chagrin. It's a little harder for her now, because she has cataracts, but she still gets around alright. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky we are to have her in our lives.

Stubby is our brown tabby and white Manx cat who is about nine years old now. For those who don't know about a Manx, they have no tail. When my husband and I moved to Ocean, New Jersey, we had Ophelia and one cat named Curley, who is no longer alive anymore. When we moved in to the apartment, I thought that Curley looked lonely and needed a playmate. So we decided, over time, to adopt a kitten into our family. We went to a rescue in Jackson and looked at different little kittens and chose little Helen. So when we were filling out the paperwork to bring little Helen home with us. The woman who runs the rescue said, "I have this other cat who needs a home. He is two years old and I have had a hard time placing the cat. The cat is really sweet, would you like to see him?" I was unsure, of course, but she went and retrieved the cat to show us anyway. The cat jumped into my husband's arms purring happily. She then proceeded to say, "He has all of his shots, and is fixed. If you adopt him, I will waive the fee." Don was won over by the cat and soon I was too, and home he and Helen came to our home. Donny calls him the Free Gift with Purchase cat.

Helen is our seven year old calico cat girl. She is probably the toughest member of our group, because she is the most temperamental. She came home the same time as Stubby, as I'd mentioned. Helen has a time limit when it comes to how long she will tolerate anyone, including her cat brethren. We thought it was something that might have happened before we got her, but then we realized that was her pathology. I have to say that I love her spirit! I love that she is not the nicest cat, and I would worry if she changed. She's not always mean, mind you. If you give her treats, food, or other types of reward type things, she's very kind. Her lovey side comes in spurts, but like a person her personality is diverse. She pretty much loves her rainbow mice and the cat tree, and her independence. This often leads to her getting in trouble as I had written about in the past. Luckily she has two responsible parents who watch out for her independent ass!

Our third kitty Tiger was a trailer park cat. My sister Stacey called me one day and told me her friend Bonnie was feeding this cat that lived in the trailer park adjacent to her property. Apparently the cat was abandoned for almost a year after his owners moved away. There is a funny story when it comes to Tiger. When I first went to adopt Tiger, I was told he was a girl. The veterinary papers given, and the shot records given on adoption said that he was a girl. We decided to name the cat Tigress and took the cat home. The cat was happy, healthy, and acclimated into our home perfectly with the other cats. Then he got a little sniffle and we ended up taking the cat to the vet and to our surprise Tigress came home Tiger. The poor cat had a drag name for almost a year. We both felt so bad for the poor guy, but he didn't seem to mind. Tiger is the eldest cat in the group now at eleven years old and the sweetest cat you'd ever meet. All he wants to do is be pet and loved constantly. I've never had a cat who was more thankful just to be on your lap.


When my cat Curley, who was ten years old at the time, passed away from cancer, I never thought that I would get over it. Curley was my baby and the first cat in our family. When something like that happens, I don't care what anyone says, it hurts badly. To this day, I still have hard time with it. I think it hurt even more because Donald and I saw Curley into this world. We helped bottle feed him when his natural mother wouldn't nurse him anymore. It was such a deep loss for both of us. When he got very sick, it was very quick. We took him to the vet and she was very honest with us. I remember the day completely and it still hurts like hell. Without going into detail, we didn't go with him that snowy evening in December of 2003.

In January, I get a call from my little sister Lenore about a cat that her friend Kevin was looking to adopt out. I immediately told her no, because I wasn't up to it after the whole thing with Curley and the unrest I was still feeling with that situation. She conceded for the time being, but called again about it the next day. Lenore told me to visit with the cat and if I really wasn't interested, she would let the situation go completely. After her constant prodding, I decided to go. Kevin, my sister's friend, had this one year old kitten they were calling "Worms." The reason being was that she had a case of worms when he got her, or so I think. That condition was gone by then, but the name stuck I guess. She was an adorable little kitten, but I guess she was a little too gregarious for Kevin's taste. She used to knock his action figures over and bury things under the carpet. Anyway, I started to play with her and pet her, she seemed to be very sweet. I kind of got suckered in and decided to take the little one home. I couldn't call her "worms," because she was too pretty for that. So today she is called Kirah, and she is six years old. She is a tortoiseshell calico kitty and she is very vocal. She loves to warble and meow at you. We call the knocking things over stunt the frequent shopper attacks, and usually it's just for attention. Now that she is doted on more often, she really doesn't make that kind of problem anymore.

We've had many birds in our family over the years. When Don and I were first married, we had one bird Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi was a parakeet who wasn't really big on being held or anything of that nature. She was a feisty little blue and white girl who laid eggs all the time. When we moved to Ocean Township, we got a cockatiel named Norbu. Norbu is a very cute, but is definitely Daddy's girl. She lets me hold her from time to time, but she mostly can do without me. Norbu, who is our only bird now, enjoys hearing music and watching television for the most part. She screams at me every time I come in the room and hangs upside down. When Chi-Chi unfortunately passed away in 2004, we eventually adopted Hyde another female parakeet. Hyde was very timid and had a very hard time bonding. She was a rescue and we didn't know what her former owners were like. Hyde was with us for six years before she passed away last year. We never really knew how old she was, but we loved her dearly and it was very hard for us to see her go. We also had Walter the canary who was with us for four years before she died. Walter was marked as a male on her rescue papers and then one day laid an egg, but since we liked her name, Walter stuck. Again, because she was a rescue, we never knew how old she really was. We miss her so much all the time. She was a wonderful bird and was a very important part of our family.

I'd had rabbits in the past, when I was a child, but they were not very nice rabbits. So when my husband found out about some rescue bunnies, I was kind of apprehensive about even approaching them in general. They were these cute little Netherland Dwarf bunnies, one steely grey and the other creamy white. When I went over to the pen, Don opened up the cage and the grey one hopped into my arms. The rabbit was immediately affectionate, and I was totally suckered. His little litter mate was just as sweet, so they went home a matched pair. Turned out that they were both fixed, which was nice. Kola, the grey bunny was a male and Schuyler, the cream bunny was a girl. The two of them were so sweet and because they were rescues, I didn't really know their age exactly. I had them both for six years, and then Schuyler unfortunately passed away from cancer. Kola is doing well and he still plays with his toys. I was worried that he was too melancholy for a while, and then I noticed he started to enjoy watching television with the bird. It was as if the television became his surrogate playmate. That was kind of scary at first, but in a way I was glad. Now he seems to be doing fine on his own and plays with his toys happily. He still enjoys to chew and spit out paper for sport, and will ham it up for the camera.

Each one of our little furry family members has brought us a sense of loving fulfillment. We will always embrace every memory they have allowed us to share with them. Animals are companions that will always be an important part of our family life. I have always been a firm believer that your life is complete with your pets along with you. These animals are most definitely our family and a very large part of our lives. They give us unconditional love and support no matter what, and they are always here for us when we come in the door. They trust us and have a bond with us that can rival some human friendships. They are the first ones we see in the morning and the last ones we see before bed. Some of them even share our bed! There are benefits to having animals in your life. They make you step out of your comfort zone. They make you get out and walk, they reduce your stress, and they can even lower your blood pressure. They all have their own distinct personalities, very much like some of the people in our lives.