Uriah

BIRTHDATE: Approximately September, 1981.

SIBLINGS: David was her son

DESCRIPTION: Calico Manx

ALIASES/NICKNAMES: Riah, Rih Rih.

FAVORITE TOYS/ACTIVITIES: Comming out of nowhere and bopping DJ and running back to where she had come from just too let him know she was queen!

BIRTHORDER: She was our first cat.

DATE OF DEATH: January 14, 1995

Cats are amazing creatures. They are intelligent, loving, friendly and independent. Over the years we have had 11. I remember our first cat. It was a birthday present from my wife, Audrey. She was a calico manx.(the cat, not my wife). Her name when we got her was Patches, but we quickly changed it to Uriah, or Riah, for short. She was the first cat either Audrey or I had owned. On her first day with us, Audrey discovered a tick on Riah. So with tweezers in hand, its always fun to hunt for ticks! Ewwwwwwwwww. Audrey had disposed of that tick, and was hunting for others. She had Riah on her back, and discovered what appeared to be a tick near her back legs. With the tweezers just inches away, I screamed in horror, that's not a tick, its Riah's nipple! From that day to her dying day she DID NOT like to be held on her back!

Now it was time to give our bundle of joy a bath. I voluntered for this "easy" task. Not!!!! So here I am, barechested, filling up the sink with some sort of pet shampoo, I grab this cat, attempt to put her in the sink water, and zoom, hiss, like a shot she flies up my chest, over my shoulder and under the couch. That was a rather painful experience for me, needless to say , I never attempted to give any of our cats a bath again! lol

Uriah was a very sensitive cat. She always sensed when one of us wasn't feeling well. She would come over to us, and would nudge us when one of us was down.

David. "I Rule"

BIRTHDATE: Approximately March, 1982.

SIBLINGS: Uriah was his mother.

DESCRIPTION: Red Tiger Manx

ALIASES/NICKNAMES: David, Davy.

FAVORITE TOYS/ACTIVITIES: Chasing his mom, getting away from JJ!

BIRTHORDER: He was our second cat.

DATE OF DEATH: May 5, 1997

We had adopted Uriah the month before. Our friend, Pat, had gotten her from a friend. This friend lived in an area that apparently was ripe for cat dumping. Uriah lived on an unheated porch. Since winter was quickly approaching, this person was looking for a home for her. About a month after getting Uriah, Pat was over visiting. In the course of conversation, we discovered that this woman had another cat there who had become very depressed after Uriah had left. Our original plans had been to adopt 1 cat. Come to find out that this depressed kitty, David, was Uriah's 8 month old kitten. Well, it took no more more than a look at Chris' puppy dog eyes to know that this little guy had found a home.

David, our beloved, was one of our most affable cats. He would greet everyone that came to visit and give them leg rubs. With his arrival at our home, his depression was somewhat diverted. It seems that even though Uriah was his mom, she had already laid claim to her new territory and was not about to give up territory to this young upstart. David spent the first month or two traveling under furniture to avoid the wrath of Uriah. They eventually worked it out and became the Best of Buds. The norm was to find them cuddled up together wherever they could find a comfy spot.

Daniel Jason(DJ)

BIRTHDATE: Approximately August, 1985.

DESCRIPTION: A black cat

ALIASES/NICKNAMES: Started out as Delilah Jezzebel. But we had to change it to Daniel Jason, hence the nickname DJ.

FAVORITE TOYS/ACTIVITIES: He loved his brother Goliath. He was the first cat I had taught to play fetch.

BIRTHORDER: He was our third cat.

DATE OF DEATH: June 14, 1996

We moved into our present apartment on October 14, 1984. Chris brought the rent over to the Super and I received a call at work. It was to inform me that Louie, the Super, had a little black kitten for whom he was trying to find a home. Thus we had our 3rd cat - ths was the first time we started out with a kitten. This little one was all black with just a speck of white on it's chest. It was about eight weeks old and we assumed it was a she. She was a tiny,little tease that was a bundle of energy and had a huge curiousity. We named her Deliah Jezzebel, DJ for short.

David adapted, Uriah tolerated - barely. In fact, for the rest of her life she let everyone know that this toleration didn't extend too far. She'd come from the other room, stand at the door of the room that DJ was in, hiss and turn her back and march back into the other room. Later on there was a variation developed on this Drop Dead Fred behavior. She'd come charging out of nowhere--BOP! DJ on the head 3 times and then disappear in whatever direction she had come. There were plenty of times that they cuddled up together, but she had to let this interloper know who was Boss.

We had DJ only a few weeks when I got a call from Chris. He was very upset and informed me that this old outside cat, Tom, had gotten our sliding screen open and had attacked DJ. I left work and got home to find this tiny little black kitten in very bad shape. I put a pillow in the laundry basket and gently placed DJ on the pillow. I was operating on automatic. I didn't dare stop to feel because all action might have stopped at that point. Made it over to the vet in very quick time. He didn't even get her out of the basket to look at her and feelings started to set in. I wanted to know if she would be all right. He had both of us go out in the waiting room so he could look at her. Within a short time he came out and let us know she had suffered spinal cord injuries and it would be touch and go. He wanted us to go home and he would give us a call. We were both convinced he was going to give us a bit of time and then call and tell us he had to put DJ to sleep. We went home and spent the night just hugging each other. When he called the news was guarded and that she was holding her own. She spent a week at the hospital.

We brought home a 10 week old kitten whose neurological functions had reverted almost to newborn status. She was unable to stand and got around by crawling on her belly. Her eyes didn't focus and she needed help in the litter box. This was November 9 and my solution was to put up the Christmas tree so that she would have lots of swinging baubles to focus on. We padded the floors with quilts so that when she tried climbing on the furniture [and she did] she would not get hurt if she didn't make it. Under the tree we put up our Manger, a fairly large one with a straw roof. That became DJ's favorite sleeping spot. Within a week or so, she was doing quite well. The hair was growing back on her neck and she walked with a thump. Her spirits were good and she was doing more than holding her own.

Christmas was here with all the festivites. DJ would bat at the Christmas decorations on the tree [all cat-safe] and sleep on the manger roof. She had fun with wrapping paper, boxes and bows. Our 3 kitties enjoyed their first Christmas in their new home. During the holidays, our friend Barbara stopped over with presents for us. After unwrapping them, we gave DJ the red bow that had decorated the package. She scooped it up, walked over to the manager and set it gently on the Baby Jesus. It was almost as if she were saying Thank you for the gift of life. DJ was truly Our Christmas Miracle.

The miracle continued and DJ progressed to her old self. Of course we still had to have her spayed when she got old enough, a procedure I was dreading. I knew with her injuries that surgery would present more of a risk to her than a normal kitten. As the time drew near I guess I was feeling the stress. But lo and behold another miracle. Laugh if you want, but sometimes I truly believe it to have been a miracle--testicles descended. How was this a miracle you ask? The neutering process for the male is not as involved for a male as for the female. It would mean less time that he was under therefore less exposure to the anesthesia. Well, Deliah Jezzebel became Daniel Jason, there were some residual short term affects of anesthesia but DJ pulled through well. NOTE: Through this whole time even the vet thought that DJ was a female so I didn't feel too dumb about not knowing what gender cat we had.

DJ will always be Our Christmas Miracle and lived for 10 years. He left to go to the Rainbow Bridge on June 14, 1996. We miss you so very much DJ, and know that Uriah is probably lying down next to you instead of coming out of nowhere to bop you.

Joshua BIRTHDATE: Approximately July 1985.

DESCRIPTION: Another black cat.

FAVORITE TOYS/ACTIVITIES: He like to keep warm in front of the refrigerator and under the blankets between Audrey and I when we went to bed.

BIRTHORDER: He was the fifth cat we had adopted.

DATE OF DEATH: October 15, 1985

Unfortunately, we have no pictures of Joshua. We had him about two months before he died in Audrey's arms.

Jeremiah

BIRTHDATE: Approximately August, 1985 .

DESCRIPTION: Angora/Tuxedo

ALIASES/NICKNAMES: Jerry, Chub-a-Dubs.

FAVORITE TOYS/ACTIVITIES: Basically kept to himself except at eating time! Loved to be groomed. When Audrey would be grooming one of the other cats, he would come running in from the other room for his turn. Such GREAT hearing!

BIRTHORDER: He was the sixth cat we adopted.

DATE OF DEATH: December 9, 1995

Following the death of Joshua, the super, who we had gotten DJ from, buried Joshua on the property. He notified us that his Angora had given birth to six kittens. Well not feeling right about taking another cat so soon after the death of Joshua, we went to look at the little kittens. Just to look, mind you! Well one look at those little Angora kittens, and we wound up with cat number six.

BIRTHDATE:Apx July 6, 1996.

DESCRIPTION: Grey Tiger

ALIASES/NICKNAMES: Benjamin.

Date of Death December, 1999

Benji was one of the feral cats we fed. He is no longer with us. He just stopped comming. We assume he went to the rainbow bridge.

Goliath

BIRTHDATE: May 14, 1985

DATE OF DEATH: December 16, 2000

DESCRIPTION: Red and beige Tiger. Yellow eyes. When he was curled up on his side, in a certain position, the stripes formed a bulls eye.

ALIASES/NICKNAMES : Guy-Guy, Guy-ith.

FAVORITE TOYS/ACTIVITIES: Walking around the house with his mouse or spider in his mouth while yammering away. Fights and squabbles with Zachariah over best spot on Moms lap.

BIRTHORDER: He was our oldest. He was the 4th cat we have adopted.

HEALTH: He had asthma and arthritis, but was still quite active.

HANGOUTS : Moms lap in the morning, by the computer when Mom is on it and shared her pillow with her at night.

FOODS : Dry and canned, any dairy, melons and most human foods he could manage to get into his mouth.

CATSONALITY : Goliath was the SENIOR cat, and he never let anyone FORGET it! I was his and no one should get any attention from me EXCEPT him. They DARE get in his way, and BOP, BOP, BOP! YOU'VE been TOLD! Since kittenhood his place had been on my lap. Lately others had been vying for the spot and he wasn't too thrilled with this change of events -- especially since he was senior kitty.

He loved to have his head petted. He would come and stand right in front of me and gives me this silent meow. I would ask him "What?" and the meow gets a little louder. I would continue on with this routine until he tried grabbing for my hand or putting his head under my hand. Another thing I would do is rub my forehead. He would reach up and grab my hand and pull it to his head. Determined he was. I've always said, I would want to be able to go to my own wake and have someone bring Goliath in. I swear, he would get my hands undone and on top of his head. LOL Just a bit of "Gallow's humor."

As a kitten, he was next in birth order to DJ. Poor DJ, loved Goliath, but Goliath mistook him for mom. Goliath would suckle on DJ's chest for hours. This went until Goliath was about 2 years old. There were times that the area on DJ's chest actually turned brown in that spot. Remember, DJ was a black cat. Something to do with being suckled [the saliva] and then sitting in the sun. We never could figure out why?

HIS STORY : The adoption of all our cats seemed to be surrounded by a tale, and so also with our adoption of Goliath. At that time we had our nephews visiting for the weekend, six year old Casey and four year old Chris. Their cat had just given birth to kittens. While driving them home, I looked at Chris, and sternly warned him not to give me "The LOOK!" He promised me he wouldn't. Well we got there and I spy the cutetest red and beige tiger. I looked at Chris and said, "I have to have him!" So much for promises!

We had to wait until he was eight weeks old before we could go get him. Our first, David and Uriah were brought to us, and Chris carried DJ across the parking lot. What did we know? We set off to pick up our new kitten, Goliath. We bring a laundry basket with a pillow in it to carry him home. I'm driving along with Chris holding the basket with our new little bundle in it. RIGHT! This eight week kitten, will sleep nicely while we all drive home. NOT! This happened to be an half hour drive. Finally I had to pull over, took Goliath and the basket from Chris. I got in the back seat, put Goliath down and then the basket on top of him. I then had Chris sit in the back and hold the basket down.

All of our cats are special to us. Goliath was one of those special cats. He was a great companion to us both and he will be missed

Our Friends' from Englands' companion Strawberry

Gilligan