Saturday, April 19, 2008

Menagerie

Living on a farm, we often find ourselves with an animal "dumped" on us. We are suckers and can't say no to a sweet little face. Here is the run down of our animals.


This is Tiger. He was dumped on us along with his brother (see below) and sister (God rest her soul.) Farm Guy found all three of them at the bottom of the grain pit all pitiful and stuck.

Tiger has 3 legs. He got caught in a trap (not ours) that was set along a nearby creek. He was missing for a few days and came back with one leg dangling. I took him to the vet, resulting in the amputation. Would you believe he is the fastest cat we have? He uses that back leg like a pogo stick!


This is Presley, Tiger's brother. When Farm Guy first brought him home, I saw his puffy face and fluffy fur and assumed he was a girl. Presley was known as Priscilla for the first few weeks of his life. I think this led to his anti-social personality.


This is Smokey, aka Fat Bastard. One day I opened the back door and this flash of gray fur flew past me into the house. He was fat and friendly and acted like he had lived here his entire life. We welcomed him into our home as an indoor cat. Fast forward to his first transaction in the litter box. You have never, EVER smelled anything as horrible and rancid as this cat's poop. Oh my Lord. It makes my eyes water just thinking about it. I thought surely after a few days of regular cat food, his system would be flushed out. Nope. This cat just has the nastiest ass ever. So, Smokey has found a loving home OUTSIDE.


This is Baby Kitty. Actually, Baby Kitty #2. My mom has had 2 baby kitties. This is her second one. She got Baby Kitty shortly after losing the first one much to my dad's chagrin. (He is so NOT a cat person.) Instead of getting a divorce, she decided to give Baby Kitty to us. Baby Kitty is one of the sweetest cats we have. He is quiet, easy-going, and loving. And fat.


This is Buttons, aka Minxie. (That's right. Our cats have nicknames.) Buttons and her brother (see below) were rescued by my sister on the night of my wedding rehearsal from the middle of a highway. She kept them at my parent's house during our honeymoon and then they came to live with us. Buttons got tired of fighting with all the male cats around here (she is spayed, as all of our animals are spayed and neutered.) So Buttons went to live at our red barn about 1/10 of a mile down the road. She lives with the cows and catches mice. Farm Guy and his cousin keep a bag of food down there and feed her each day. She is a petite little fat thing, happy as a clam to live all by herself in the barn.



This is Baxter. He is black. That about sums him up.



This is Noodles. She is my evil stepdaughter. Farm Guy has had her much longer than he has known me. She showed up at the place he was working and he brought her home. She is old. She is the only indoor cat, much to my dismay. She is weird and is always staring at me. She spends most of her life in the doorway, waiting for me to walk by so she can scratch my ankles.



This is Daisy. She was left at our red barn, tied up with a small pan of water on the 4th of July, three years ago. We scooped her up and took her home with us. She is a very sweet, always guilty looking dog. She worships Farm Guy and loves to lick. Edited to add: Daisy passed away this past summer. We loved her very much and know she is taking Gator rides in Doggie Heaven.


This is Jackie the Cow, the bane of my existence. We had a pregnant dog show up at our house last summer (the mom looked exactly like Jackie.) We fed her and allowed her to stay at our house to have her puppies. She had 6 puppies. We found good homes for all of them. Tractor Boy fell in love with Jackie and so we foolishly kept her. Well, now she spends 99% of her day finding things around the yard, garage, garbage, and other people's garbage to drag to our yard and chew. She chews EVERYTHING. Ugh. But, she is very sweet and Cole loves her so we do too.


This is Bear, otherwise known as Best Dog on the Planet. Bear's mom was hit along the road next to my school the first year Farm Guy and I were married. Bear and his brother were wandering the school yard. I got someone to take the brother, but Bear was mine. He was a little ball of fluff with the sweetest eyes ever. His breath smelled like the ass of a skunk, but that's another matter. On the way home that day, I stopped by Farm Guy's tractor shop, bringing Bear in with me. He rolled his eyes and said, "I don't want no GD dog." But I took him home anyway. About 10 minutes into their relationship, Bear became Farm Guy's best friend. Those 2 are inseparable. They farm together. They sit in the recliner together. Bear is the first person Farm Guy greets when he gets home from work. He truly is "Man's Best Friend."

This is Jose, the newest member of our family. Jose showed up shortly after Daisy passed away. Clearly God has a sense of humor and decided we didn't have near enough mouths to feed. Jose came to our farm at about the same that Jackie the Cow went into heat for the first time. We rushed her to the vet to take care of that business. But Jose? He never left. He has been our first full-time indoor dog. We have never had a small dog, but are enjoying him being here with us. He is feisty and fun and always shivering.

We certainly have enough 4-legged creatures around here...but I am sure there will be more. And we will take them in with open arms.


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70 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Now, that's a LOT of cats! We just have one now and are hoping he kicks it so that we can get a new puppy. I'm sort of kidding, but he is so non-social! He has our golden retriever totally under his control, and he hisses at anyone who tries to pet him. That's the one thing I don't like about cats; you never know what kind of personality you're going to get until they grow up a little (and it's too late!) We've had some wonderful cats in the past, though. I could be talked into another one (Shhhh!)

Finding Normal said...

I knew you had a lot of cats, but that line-up is impressive! Your description of Noodles cracks me up!

Sarah said...

Aww, I love your animals!

Tiffany said...

Wow thats a lot of animals! Noodles sounds like a great kitty LOL Good for you to take in all those animals and make sure that they are spayed and nuetered! I wish more people were like that with animals.

Anonymous said...

After the loss of my dog my senior year of high school, my mom vetoed getting anymore dogs until she had recovered from the loss. My family became a cat family. Whatever followed us home, we kept. Penelope, Herbie, Hercules and Boots are more spoiled then any of us kids ever were!

Jennifer P. said...

Well it looks like you will have lots of company when you're old......

Just kidding! I love animals and would have the same menagerie if I lived back on our farm. Except that we were right by the highway, so any new pet seemed to be roadkill within a few months.

trash said...

Step-relationships can be so difficult *sigh*. All you can do is offer friendship and understanding and let her know you are not going to take her daddy away.

:-)

Missy said...

Thank goodness someone else is a much of a sucker as I am when it comes to animals! Yeah, once the kids get attached there's no giving them away! Hey, I have a super-bad german shepherd that specifically asked to be mailed to you from Kentucky...do you think FedEx would work? (:

Marie Reed said...

Ahhhh! The descriptions are fab! I want another cat now! We only have two:) But I have six aquariums because the fish keep on having babies! I need to plunk 'the pill' into their tank;)

careysue said...

Cats!!! yay, you gotta love em! I love your descriptions of their personalities...too cute!

-Bridget said...

You should sell your services as a traveling petting zoo for birthday parties. Just add a goat or a bunny along and you've got something that city moms will pay big bucks for. The moms will be going, "See kids, come see the animals. That there is a cat. C-A-T. They lick their butts. Do you want to give the cat a kiss?"

Me on Metatrophin said...

Heh heh heh!! Very entertaining! I want to know what area of the country you live in! From the photos, it looks like you are surrounded by beauty and lots of fuzzy four (and three) legged love! You two legged loves are precious! Oh, and before my school librarian days, I too was a fifth grade teacher!

Unknown said...

I love that you have nicknames for your cats LOL. What a lot of animals and they are all beautiful I think my favorite is fat bastard though I just love the way that nickname rolls off the tongue LOL

EmBee said...

I'm mistress of 1 dog and a turtle... I can't EVEN imagine your vet bills! But I love 'Bear's' face, there's no way I could've said no to that one!

Acrimony said...

Aw man, now I want to live on a farm just so I can collect cats! I am such a huge animal freak, I'm totally jealous. We have 3 (had 4 but one of them got really really sick) and every already looks at me like the crazy cat lady... now I'll just send them to your blog. ;)

angela | the painted house said...

Holy Cow, that is a lot of animals! Your cats are precious...makes me sad that we gave ours away to my mom.

Sunshine said...

Okay, I just looooove everyone! (smooch, smooch, smooch!) and I totally up to the challenge to be Baxter's friend.

Oh, and I MUST have a farm now with 25 cats and 15 dogs and everybody has to have a nickname (including my hubby who I so want to name Farm Guy--a bit of an upgrade from Wii Guy--and I want him to say "I don't want no GD dog" and bring the dog home anyway)!

YOU, are a lucky, lucky girl. With lots of cats and dogs.

Is this too much to ask?

Nichole said...

i envy you! i can't wait for the day i can take in every stray and have a million cats run towards my car popping out of every nook and cranny and tree and barrel when my car drives in. LOVE IT!

Bottles Barbies And Boys said...

Oh My I didn't realize you were running a pound! lol

Now where do you live? I'm coming over to steal, I mean visit
Presley & Bear! ;)

Sherri said...

Wow!! That is great that you are willing to take in all of these animals - they are lucky to have you!! I sometimes get coupons for free pet food -- maybe you should send me your address!

Unknown said...

We have our own Fat Bastard. Actually, he's a combination of FB and Evil Eyes. J got EE a couple of years before he met me and EE has never forgiven me for being the interloper. He used to take swipes at my ankles, but now, that he's fat, he just plops himself down in front of me as I'm walking past, reulting in me tripping over him. He also has the most rancid, eye-watering, nasal clearing poops. I've ever smelt..

Anonymous said...

OH I love this post! Anyone who loves animals this much is "Good People" in my book! Thanks for doing your part to help the animal rescue effort in America!!! Not sure that was your plan, but its pretty much what you are doing!

Jacki McHale said...

I love my cats and my dogs too!

First off, I so nick name my pets too.
Maggie is The Baby (first one to live here)
Sophie the Wiggler, or Sophie the Goat (she has been known to eat glass, foil, all plastics, paper...)
Jordan or Boobie, not sure where that came from.
and Chloe, or Chloe berry.
And all mine are indoor pets!

katylinvw said...

i love all your animals! your description of noodles made me laugh so hard i nearly peed myself (don't tell anyone, lol)! - btw, love your background,too!

Melanie Dickens said...

The more I read the more I love you! I love cats and we now have 2 but we have trouble keeping them. People like to use them for target practice if you aren't careful. You are an awesome example for the rest of us and yes we too nickname our animals.

KimmyJ said...

Aww, y'all are so sweet to give all those babies homes! Your post made me laugh so hard! I needed it today too. Found it on SITS!

KatBouska said...

You realize you are officially a cat lady right??

Just wanted to clear that up.

I love all the animals!! It helps that they're adorable. I just feel sorry for all your neighbors who have been looking for their lost pets. ;)

Connie said...

Farm / Zoo ... who cares right! Love each and every one of them.

Mama Dawg said...

Came from SITS. You are my hero. Truly. I aspire to be you with all your animals. If I had the room and didn't live right off a highway with logging/sweet potato/cotton trucks going past at 55 mph, I would TOTALLY have as many as you. As it is, I already have 2 indoor cats and two fish with the addition of a (new) hamster pretty soon.

Oh, and I have a mouse but he's not a pet but only because I haven't caught him yet!

Anonymous said...

lol. What a great list! I honestly wish I lived on a farm and had a chance to help out animals like that.
Very funny and fantastic of you!

Insane Mama said...

I like Bear, your description of him shows youre love!

Gina said...

I love Baxter- he looks like MY cat!!!

Melissa said...

Got room for any more? I have four beautiful kittens that would love to be adopted!
That is hilarious about Fat B! Looking forward to future posts!

"The Queen in Residence" said...

Wow - you are a animal haven. I think that is why people leave animals there, they know they will be fine.

I am so jealous. I want a pet for our kids. I think pets are a thing all kids need but the man does not agree.I wil just live vicariously thru others.....

Karen said...

We've ended up with 5 cats due to the fact that we have a barn- people think we have room- well ok and we are suckers.

THE Stephanie said...

Seriously woman!! You should open an animal farm!!

Marla said...

I will no longer feel the least bit bad about the stray cat issue I have... you put me to shame! Feel like my post today was simply a drop in the bucket by comparison

scargosun said...

You guys are just the best for rescuing all those sweeties! IF we had a farm, I'd do the same. :) You can tell Bear is probably the sweetest dog in the world just by seeing that pic.

Alison said...

My goodness, you have a lot of animals! It's nice that they get to live on a farm with people who love them.

my2boyz said...

WOW!! That is way too many to track of, plus kids!

AFRo said...

I apologize in advance for my profanity, but Holy Shit that's a lot of animals!

Nauntie Lush said...

You need a medal for having that many animals! (I know you have a farm, but still...)

Also the cat, the "Fat Bastard" is named after my favorite French wine! So that is all kinds of AWESOME, even if he is a cat!

Jess NBP said...

AWESOME Review of your furr babies. they are all so precious.

Anonymous said...

Seriously, Noodles looked MAD in that picture, she didn't even want you to take it! HA!

Crazy how animals just become part of the family, huh?

Marie said...

Omg. I totally lost track of how many animals that was after Smoky. I had a cat once that had the most foul smelling poop ever. I mean, what poop smells good, really, but there was just something VERY wrong with that cat. lol

Gina said...

I am soooo not an animal person. I drew the line at 3 goldfish. We tried 2 used dogs. The first one had to go back home because she kept hopping our 4 ft fence and RUNNING the neighborhood. The second one went to the shelter because the damn thing would stand outside for 30 minutes with his butt hole puckering and then I would gve up and bring him in- only to have him run upstairs to the family room and poop on the carpet. I'm done with dogs.

Rhea said...

I grew up on a ranch and we had a million cats...so of course my little sister and I had to name each and every one of them.

I loved this post. You have quite a herd...too bad they can't form a baseball team or something...

One Crazy Chick! said...

We do not have a farm. But we should. We have a similar menagerie but with fowl.

Karen said...

A few years back my parents had almost as many cats as you....several strays that they had taken in and one that was preg-o and had 5 kittens. Slowly, they have gotten back down to just the one original cat. Your post had me laughing out loud as I remembered all those damn cats.

Tausha said...

you are one of those animal saints. I think that you have a special place in heaven.
Very craetive names and stories that go with each of your animals. My favorite is Fat bastard. His whole story, I almost spit out my precious diet coke! The fact that he smells that bad and you still keep him-star for your forehead! I guess it kind of goes along the same line as keeping my hubby! :)

Kristi said...

I don't think you need to be widowed to become "that old cat lady"... Seriously - you hate to clean the litter box, right? LOL!!! As a veterinarian, I would say that I'd LOVE to have you as my client!!! :)

Anonymous said...

We had tons of cats when I was a kid too. They usually had unique names but nnone of them compare to "fat bastard". :D

Cookie said...

well you do love pets!!! very cute!

Michelle said...

Ok, I lost count there! How many is that? :) I actually thought for awhile that you were going to have only cats! You have a big, big heart.

Maternal Mirth said...

I love all your kitties, but I have two of my own. My Dummy said if I brought home another, he'd make ME use the litter box.

You have an amazing heart!

aubrey said...

I have no idea how you keep track of all those animals, that's impressive. You are creative with your names. Farm life sounds fun!

Anonymous said...

How do you keep track of all those housepets (or should I say farm pets). That is a crazy amount of cats - i see you love them all. visiting via sits.

Adiel | Rose Gold Lining said...

What a bunch of sweet kitties! I wish I wasn't allergic to them!

Lauren said...

OMG I'm seriously in tears over how funny that was!! I think it would have to be Jackie the Cow that is my favorite (love the name by the way). We had a dog named Gator (my aunt named him... she's nuts) that used to chew up EVERYTHING. His favorite "snack" was the insides of golf balls. Very weird dog.

Lex the mom said...

You have the best animals in the world! Though we can't - we don't have the property for it, we'd love to have more pets!

What is it about cats & their owners finding new people & the new people get the butt end of the deal? My mom has had cats like Noodles - they meanie the men she's had in her life.

Great story telling you've done with your animals.

Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...

You have me beat! ha ha! We have only one cat and seven dogs. But we foster so only 3 of the dogs are permanent residents.
Love your descriptions and your big rescue heart!
I found you from SITS.

Anonymous said...

You've got quite the collection going on there! We've got two dogs that are spoiled rotten and don't even know they are dogs anymore!

Kat Mortensen said...

Looks like Paradise to me! We have 4 cats - all indoors, but we don't have a farm (more's the pity) or else we would have that Irish Wolfhound, Basset Hound, Chocolate Lab, Siamese, Donkey, Charolais or Guernsey and Clydesdale we're always going on about!
Whew! Good thing that'll never happen!

Love your blog!

Kat

jori-o said...

Your descriptions are great! I cannot imagine having to take care of that many animals...I have a hard enough time keeping up with my fam! =)

vsm/whirling dirvish photography said...

Oh heck woman! I thought I had a ton of animals! I'm just as guilty as you are! Love your post and your little sunspot!!!
Visiting via Mr. Linky at MamaKat's

Darcie said...

We need more animal lovers like you out there in the world. I love cats, but only can lay claim to one.
Connected via Mamakat

Deni said...

Wow, and I thought my family took in a lot of strays. I grew up on a farm and so we always had a new stray cat showing up (not so much dogs..just cats). We normally kept them, I can't even count on two hands how many cats we have had living on our farm. it's been ALOT! Glad to see my family is not the only one that takes strays in!

Oh and I found you through mamakat

Suzi said...

Wow, that's a lot of animals. We have 1 dog and 2 cats. One cat we rescued from uncertain death and the other just showed up and adopted me.

kisatrtle said...

That's a Lot of four legged friends but it looks like being dropped off at your farm may have been their lucky day.

Christy said...

I can SO beat you on the cat numbers. I grew up on a farm and at one point we had 5 pregnant cats.....resulting in 29 total cats. That's right.....TWENTY NINE CATS.