No I do not have actual babies. My cats are my babies. I know lots of people say your pets can't be babies, but if you have ever had several cats at once you will know its like your 2 year old staying 2 their entire life.
Chessie- The first cat my husband and I "adopted" (I have had cats all my life, but she was the first cat we had together). Chessie is named after the female cat from the Chesapeake Railroad. We "adopted" Chessie when we were living in a small efficiency apartment. She showed up on our doorstep crying for food, and I can never turn a cat away whos hungry), so I fed her on our porch and petted her and she eventually went to wherever she came from. The next day she came back, it was pouring the rain so I let her in to dry off and get warmed up and fed her again. She stayed the entire day and I figured I would just keep her around the house, stupidly my husband talked me out of it and put her back out. The next day she shows up again and my husband says we can keep her, later that day however some guy is outside yelling "lolipop" half heartedly so my husband goes out and find out the cat belongs to him, she is part of a litter and his wife sent him to look for her. So we give the kitten back and assume we will never see her again. Later that night she shows back up at our door and is crying for food again, so I let her in and tell my husband we are keeping her. The guy never came looking for her again so I assume they figured she was just going to keep running away and it wasn't worth the trouble of hunting her down.
Things that Chessie loves: food, treats, snuggling, my dad snuggling her when he comes over, and boxes. Things Chessie hates: the other cats annoying her.
Peake- My husband used to work at a local radio station and near the radio station people were known to drop off cats randomly. Well most of the cats were skittish and wanted nothing to do with people, but one cat followed my husband back and forth between the car and the radio station and would wait outside the door for him whenever he was working. So eventually my husband decided to bring him home and surprise me with the little guy. I of course fall in love with the kitten as soon as I see him and promptly name him Peake after the male cat from the Chesapeake Railroad.
Things Peake loves: Me, snuggling me, following me around, food, treats, and trying to trip my husband at random intervals. Things Peake hates: my husband.
Dart- We took a trip to Lowes one day to get a air conditioner unit for the house we live in (it was really hot that summer) and as we pulled in the parking lot we see about three Lowes workers running after something and scare whatever it is under a stacked pallet with plants on it. I figure its just a rodent of some kind but I hear one of them say call the dog catcher to come get this kitten. I halt in my tracks and turn and make a bee line for where the guys have trapped the kitten. My husband follows me trying to get me to explain what I'm doing. I get near the pallets and tell the guys who work there to back off and I will get the kitten out. So they give me the "fine whatever" look and go back to their jobs. I tell my husband to stand on the other side and catch the kitten if it comes his way and I get down on my knees and start talking to the kitten trying to coax it out. It doesn't take much and the kitten tentatively walks to me and I scoop him up and cradle him like a baby. Without telling my husband anything I walk into Lowes with the kitten and continue with my shopping like nothing has happened. So we get the air conditioner and check out and come home with the intended purchase and a free kitten. We name him Dart (short for D'Artagnan) because he is a ballsy little cat, the first thing he did when we brought him in our house was walk up to the biggest cat in our house and smack him in the face.
Things Dart loves: attention lots and lots of attention, food, treats, cheese, putting his butt in your face. Things Dart hates: other cats getting attention and not him, and getting locked out of a room.
Luna- Is so named because she is all black with a white patch of fur on her chest that looks like a moon. Luna came to us on my husbands birthday when we were out at a flea market. I told my husband I wanted a little orange kitten and a black kitten to name Kirk and Spock. Well a lady was giving away kittens and Luna was the last one she had, the person who was supposed to take her never came back for her and the lady told us she really wanted to get packed up and leave. Well I saw this cute little black puff of fur and decided she would go home with us. I packed Luna around the rest of the flea market and then held her the entire way home (she fussed the entire way home). Luna is nicknamed Fuss because she fusses all the time. She will fuss when she's eating, when she's sleeping, she doesn't meow she fusses.
Things Luna loves: Sleeping, food, treats, and fussing. Things Luna hates: not being fed treats when she thinks shes earned them and being cuddled.
Duchess- Duchess showed up at our door one day (we live out on a farm pretty far from other people at the time). We took her in and fed her and asked around if anyone was missing a cat, when no one came forward to claim her we decided that she would be an excellent addition to our family.
Things Duchess loves: Cash (our youngest cat) and sleeping. Things Duchess hates: not knowing where Cash is.
Misty- Misty was originally my brothers cat, but when my brother first got together with the woman he's now married to (I.E. The Bitch) she claimed that Misty was mean and vicious and was scratching her and biting her all the time (if the cat did I wouldn't blame it), so my brother asked me if I would take Misty in. Misty was not named Misty when I got her, I don't remember the name my brother gave her. When we first brought her home Misty was testing the boundaries of what she could do and where she could go and while doing so she caused so much trouble. Well I called her little miss trouble (Miss T) which eventually got shortened to Misty.
Things Misty loves: being alone, playing with Cash, Duchess, and Monster (our Amish neighbors cat), sleeping, pushing doors open. Things Misty hates: being held for too long, being cuddled.
Cash- Cash was another of my brothers cats that he had to give up, he actually had two kittens at his place already and found Cash and couldn't keep him. Well I was looking for companion cat for Misty (she was still really rambunctious and needed someone to play with, my other cats are all older and didn't really want to play anymore), so when my brother got Cash he called my parents to bring the cat to me. Well it just so happened that it was right around Christmas and my mom had gotten my dad some train cars for christmas that he had been wanting for a while. Mom had me order the trains and have them sent to my house so that if anything went wrong with the order I would be able to take care of it easier. My dad knew about the trains, he had picked them out himself, and knew that they had arrived and I was going to bring them down for Christmas, well when my brother told them he had a kitten for them to bring me my dad jumped at the chance to come up here and get the trains. I had previously told my dad that he would't get the trains until Christmas unless he gave me one of my Christmas presents in return. My dad called me and (jokingly) said he had a kitten for me and would only hand it over if I gave him the trains (he was using the kitten as a ransom for the trains). My dad arrives and we do the exchange (I think I got the better deal), he asks me what I'm going to name the little guy and without hesitation I said Cash. My mom and dad have confused looks and ask me why and I tell them because he was a Cash Ransom for the trains. My mom loves it and can't stop laughing, my dad just gives me a look of "your crazy, but your my daughter so its to be expected".
Things Cash loves: attacking my feet in the middle of the night, treats, food, jingle balls, playing with the other cats. Things Cash hates: not being fed on time, not being able to play because all the other cats are asleep.
Now our cat Duchess his unfixed (all our cats are indoor cats) and I have been told by our vet that they don't want to do any surgeries to her because she had a breathing problem that could cause complications during a surgery, so Duchess never got fixed. When we got Cash she wanted nothing to do with him, she hated him and would hiss at smack at him any time he was near. Eventually she went into heat and when she got through it she took on a whole new attitude towards Cash. He is now her baby, she pampers him. She will clean him, and he if moves to another room she will follow him, if she hears him squalling while playing with another cat she will stop the playing and cumort him. If another cat stops Cash from getting in the food she will start a fight with the cat so Cash can eat. For some reason Cash is now her baby and no one messes with her baby.
Now to tell you how I figure my cats are like a permanent two year old. My cats are picky about what they eat, they want a specific kind of canned cat food and if you get anything other than the shreds or bits they refuse to eat it. They for some reason don't like anything tuna flavored (except tuna). I have to clean up their poop (litter boxes) after having spent a lot of time and effort potty training them. I clean up a lot of puke from the cats hair balls. My cats refuse to take medicine and I have to sneak it into their food. My cat Chessie is a short hair and has a bald belly (he hair never grew back after getting her fixed) so I put her in a little sweater when she gets cold to keep her warm (which she hates to wear). The cats need constant attention, if one of them isn't in my lap when I sit down its a miracle. I have been peed and pooped on by the cats while potty training them, they even peed in the bed while we slept. They talk back, you tell them not to do something the will meow at you and give you their opinion. If you close the door to the room your in to keep them out for a while the will trash the rest of the house in retaliation and then watch as you clean it up and curse at them. I get no privacy in the bathroom, if i go in and close the door at least one cat will be sitting on the other side the entire time meowing and scratching at the door. I am frequently yelling phrases such as: "Stop that!", "How many times have I told you to leave that alone?", "Quit bothering your sister/brother", "You will get fed when its time to get fed", "Get down from there", "Don't knock that off", "You will only get a treat when you have earned it", "Your brother/sister wants to sleep, leave them alone", "Leave me alone I'm trying to sleep", and "Find something else to do, I'm working on something and can't play with you right now". Ever had to give a two year old a bath who doesn't want a bath? Well think of doing that with a cat who has claws and thinks water is like lava, most kids will eventually give in and just pout, cats however never give in and will try to rip your skin off the entire time you are cleaning them.
I know a good portion of people probably think I'm a crazy cat lady for having seven cats (and their right), but I don't care. I love my cats and will always treat them and talk about them like they are my babies.
