Relationships…the day after tomorrow

I recently upgraded my phone, and got a much better camera out of the deal. So I had to take photos of the furry family members, didn’t I?

Stuart "Stooby-Dooby-Doo" Roberts

This is our cat Stuart, who was abandoned at the tender age of 1 or 2 weeks when dogs chased away his feral mama before she could move the last of her litter out of harm’s way. He was originally named Stuart Little (yes, after a mouse—the indignity), and was bottle fed at Conrad Strays by the superhuman duo Dave and Teresa Conrad. He now weighs almost 20 pounds and loves sleeping on me.

Hank "I'd-Be-Happy-To" Roberts

This is Hank, who is half Rottweiler and half Chinese Shar-Pei (according to the Wood River Valley Animal Shelter, his dam was an AKC-registered Rottie, and his sire was a Shar-Pei who could jump a six-foot fence). Spooky Man would like to make this the next designer breed, but I think Hank is one of a kind. He came to us neutered, so cloning would have to be involved, anyway.

Gizmo "The Many-Toed" Roberts

This is Gizmo, who looked like a Gremlin for about two weeks when she first came home with us from the Idaho Humane Society. Actually, she looked like Stripe, but Stripe was evil and I didn’t want to encourage evil-cat-ness so she got a Magwai name. Gizmo has six toes on both of her front paws (complete with functional claws) and five toes on both back paws, both considered good luck for her humans in, I think, Thailand. Spooky Man has mentioned changing her name to Gizmeaux, but she wouldn’t have the patience for all those extra letters. Too silly.

Then there’s Tuffi (short for fluffy tabby with ear-tufts), the Main Coon-type cat that showed up at our house last July 4th, half-grown, tattered-furred, and much, much too skinny. Tuffi decided the regular meals were enough to put up with being forced into the warm house at night during the winter. He’s still not sure about litter boxes (why can’t they just go outside like civilized cats?), but he likes pillows and fleece blankets. Tuffi’s camera shy; either he wouldn’t hold still or it was just the wrong light level, and I haven’t gotten a good photo yet.

And the last member of the fur-bearing family is Serena, who is almost twenty and…not ready for her closeup. Serena is going into kidney failure, so she looks like we starve her (we don’t, of course; the rest of the cats are getting fat off the food she can’t/won’t eat) and she stopped grooming herself with any regularity about nine months ago. This is her home as long as she chooses to stay with us, but I’m not going to embarrass her with a photo where she looks less than her best (the horror!). That means there’s going to be a fight over a bath this weekend. I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m going to win, and she’ll feel much better afterward. Then we’ll take her picture.