This
site is dedicated to the countless volunteers who work with
homeless and neglected cats.
And to the wonderful cats who have shared our home.
Skittles | Abigail
| Gabriel | Guiness
| Jackie
|
| Niki | Oscar
| Pippin | Roger | Sammy | Tigger | Lucia |
Please spay/neuter. Thank
You.
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cats? Click Here
Chien d'or has joined our colony... uhm family... not without a bit of adventure. If you would like to read Chien's Big Adventure, please click here. |
Trapped October 16, 2007
Skittles…
Skittles was considered a feral cat (kitten actually) and was trapped on October 16 on a nearby farm. He then went with 50 other cats to a spay/neuter clinic as part of a trap-spay-release program. He came to our place to recuperate while I searched for a good placement for him. But I got brave and picked him up and he responded so well to affection, Dave and I got attached. He absolutely adores Chien. Click here for a couple little videos showing Skittles and Chien being BFF. |
Adopted February 18, 1997
Abigale
my lovely office/studio cat. As sweet and gentle as she looks.
Thank you, Ruth for rescuing this kitten and
bringing her to me. She is a joy to me every day. She is
just a little spoiled.
Abby stays indoors most of the time. When she
does go out, she picks up her feet with each step as if she
does not want to get her paws dirty. I remember so well the
day I looked out and saw her in a pose that indicated to me
that she was actually hunting. Intrigued, I watched as she
stood motionless - intent on something out of my line of
site. Suddenly, with the distinctive thrumming of wings and
loud "Gobble, gobble, gobble," an enormous turkey
flew up in the air in front of her. Abby has never run so
fast before or since. She high-tailed back to the studio and
has never presumed to hunt again.Abby does have some talent
in catching cloth mice between her fluffy paws. |
Gabriel
Spring
1988 - March 11, 2005
I will always remember the day I met Ruth Cummings and
Gabriel for the first time. After the loss of a pet, I
was in need of a cat to nurture and cuddle. At the shelter,
I was bewildered - there were so many cats and kittens,
but "my" cat was not there. My husband immediately
connected with a personable, adventurous tabby we subsequently
named Marco.
Ruth was the manager at that time and seeing
that I had not chosen any of the shelter animals, asked
me what I had in mind. I said something to the effect
of "a young kitten" in response to which Ruth
said some word in disappointment. At that moment I knew
that whatever was on her mind was what I wanted.
Ruth told me of an older kitten she rescued
at nearby Canoe Creek State Park. Too paranoid and terrified
to be brought into a shelter environment, Ruth took him
and his mother into her own home. We arranged to meet
at her home after work. When she placed Gabriel in my
lap, he buried his head into the crook of arm and trembled.
The apparent victim of abuse, Gabriel responded to love
and affection and we bonded immediately. I held him throughout
that first night. Thankfully, Marco's normal kitten behavior
helped socialize Gabriel and allowed him to learn the
world was not all terrifying. |
Adopted February 4, 2001. Brought into the shelter July 26, 2000. Estimated age at intake was 6 years and her original name was Tinker.
Guiness
when Dave went to Shippensburg University, he missed the
cats so much. None of the cats in our family at that time
would have adjusted to apartment living very well. So we
decided to "foster" a cat from the shelter. Right. Guiness loved having Dave all to herself. It was a challenge
to incorporate her into the colony when they both moved
home. But she has been getting better about having
the other cats around. She likes to nibble on some people's
feet. |
Adopted in the Fall of 1998 at estimated 2 years of age
Jackie
an area family had taken in Jackie but found that allergies
were too much of a problem. I agreed to try to find him a
home. Well, his home is here, now. He's a bit of a wanderer.
He misses the retired lady who used to live next door. She
told me he would visit every day for
"conversations". He is very affectionate and likes
to sleep on top of Dave. |
Adopted September 16, 1999 (brought to shelter 7/24/1999 at approx. 16 weeks of age).
Originally named Chelsea.
Niki
what can I say about Niki. He is a doll. His cross-eyed
stare makes him lookferocious to anyone who hasn't met him
properly. He's one of those somewhat deformed cats with the
extra claws. But he also has missing toes which leaves his
paws looking like mittens. He walks on his front toes like a
ballerina. I used to worry about his ability to get around
but he is just fine and climbs trees like a pro.
He is one of the most personable cats I have
ever known and I suspect he may have some Rag Doll breed
(and maybe Maine Coon) in him. Niki's claim to-fame in our
household is his peacemaking capabilities. Whenever two of
the cats are facing off in one of their perceived power
struggles, Niki will walk between them, intentionally
bumping into one and then the other. It is very effective in
breaking the aggressive stances. I've seen him do this
enough times to know that it is intentional.
I love when he yawns and shows off his huge
front teeth. |
Adopted April 5, 1999. Had been in the shelter since December 30, 1998
Oscar
This cat is a trip. He was one of the first adult cats
brought into the newly built shelter and was there for many,
many months. When I would go there, I always picked him up
because he liked to be held. He hugged back. And when I
would go to put him back in his cage, he would cling to
me.
Oscar would have been best off if he had been
adopted into a one cat household. Unfortunately, he was
forced to deal with our colony (at the time we had 12). It
was not pretty. He wanted so much to be the Alpha cat. But
it was not to be. But for the most part, things have settled
down. He is still sweetly affectionate. I credit Niki with
the positive changes.
Oscar has gained so much weight, he can no
longer leap into my arms. Why do some cats get fat? |
Adopted September 16, 1999. Was in the shelter since May 15, 1999
Pippin
aaah - my Pip. He's my baby. I saw Pippin at the shelter
many times. Always, he was in one of the top cages and he
would be sitting quietly and look me straight in the eyes. I
do like that.
When I mentioned to one of the other board
members that this tabby had become my favorite there, she
said I must tell the manager since he was her favorite cat,
too. So I walked into the cat room and told Alysia that we
apparently had the same taste in cats. She was effusive in
her adoration and praise of the tabby and pleaded with me to
please adopt him. I mentioned that whenever I had a
favorite, they always got adopted. That seemed to make her
feel better, but she elicited a promise from me that if no
one took him, I would adopt him. At that, she bent down and
scoped up a DIFFERENT tabby and while snuggling him, told
him, "Oh I am so relieved you will have a
home."
I was stunned to realize we had been talking about
two different tabby kittens! I didn't have the heart to tell
her it was all a mistake.
On the way home that night and all evening, I was
almost haunted by Pippin's face. I couldn't get him off my
mind. In the morning I called the shelter and asked Alysia
if she could put the two tabbies in the same cage together
to see if they got along. Of course they became best
buddies. So by noon I told her I wanted to take both.
Figured if I was going to adopt one, I was certainly going
to adopt the other I wanted most of all! That was one of the
best decisions I have ever made. The other tabby? That was
Niki. |
Adopted February 18, 1997 - October 28, 2007
Roger
another cat courtesy of Ruth. I used to rent office space in
the middle of town. Putting in lots of hours as many
self-employed people do, I was away from home a lot. The
worst part of that was missing the companionship of my cats.
But my landlord surprised me by telling me it would be
perfectly ok to have a cat in the office.
I did not want to stress any of the cats at
home with relocation or commuting, so Ruth volunteered to
bring me a couple rescued cats to choose from. She lugged
cat carriers up the steep flight of stairs and grinned at me
knowing I was going to get hooked once again. One of the
carriers had a sizable mature male and I quickly eliminated
that choice, opting to choose from several kittens. As the
first kitten wreaked total havoc in the office by jumping on
top of everything and scattering papers, the adult cat
started yowling in inconsolable distress.
We returned the rambunctious youngster to the carrier
and I noticed a shy, yellow kitten trying to look inconspicuous
in the back. She looked so appealing to me that I wanted to
see her. But before coaxing her out, something had to be
done to stop the incessant caterwauling from the large tabby.
I suggested we let him out to calm things down. When the
carrier door opened, this handsome tabby walked sedately
out, purposefully strode across the room and jumped up onto
my light table. He laid down as if he had been there all his
life and looked straight at me as if to say, "Look
lady, I'm a REAL cat, and your choice is easy. I belong
here."
But I was still interested in the yellow kitten
so we pulled her out to get acquainted. The poor little
thing was terrified. She took off and hid under a chair. But
when she spotted the big tabby, all she wanted was to get as
close to him as she could for comfort. He wasn't thrilled,
but he put up with her. And so Roger and Abby came to live
at my office. A couple years later, I had the opportunity to
move my business into the studio next to our home and the
two easily adjusted to life in the country. |
Group
Shots
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