Brian

We are the lucky housemates of the lovely Miss Rita (a delicate grey young lady cat) and the bounding butterscotch and white gent, Spenser (formally known as Brian). Spenser is often called Mr. Wiggles because he has come to love being petted so much that he can't sit still. When we first brought them home from Friends of Ferals they were both extremely skittish and shy. They had both been at the shelter at the same time but they became friends after being adopted. It took weeks and weeks for them to come out of their shell. Rita had run in fright from every approach and Spenser allowed no picking up. They have evolved into a couple of cuddle bunnies. Rita rolls at our feet every morning in greeting, inviting petting and pick up cuddling. Spenser winds his away around our ankles to ask for the the same. He has become a lap cat and is learning how to knit. Rita has claimed the overstuffed chair for her morning naps. Sometimes they are furry whirlwinds of playfully chasing cats and sometimes they are side by side purring - two good kitties happy at home. Thanks Friends of Ferals for Rita and Spenser, Doug and Bernie Fuson

Rita

We are the lucky housemates of the lovely Miss Rita (a delicate grey young lady cat) and the bounding butterscotch and white gent, Spenser. Spenser is often called Mr. Wiggles because he has come to love being petted so much that he can't sit still. When we first brought them home from Friends of Ferals they were both extremely skittish and shy. They had both been at the shelter at the same time but they became friends after being adopted. It took weeks and weeks for them to come out of their shell. Rita had run in fright from every approach and Spenser allowed no picking up. They have evolved into a couple of cuddle bunnies. Rita rolls at our feet every morning in greeting, inviting petting and pick up cuddling. Spenser winds his away around our ankles to ask for the the same. He has become a lap cat and is learning how to knit. Rita has claimed the overstuffed chair for her morning naps. Sometimes they are furry whirlwinds of playfully chasing cats and sometimes they are side by side purring - two good kitties happy at home. Thanks Friends of Ferals for Rita and Spenser, Doug and Bernie Fuson

Wednesday

Heres an update on the cat that was formerly named Wednesday. My daughter renamed her Gizmo and it fits. Like the Gremlin from the movie, she is mischevious and sometimes downright naughty. I don't know what her previous life was like but I get a sense it was not a loving home. I can best relay her progress with "A day in the life of Gizmo". The morning starts with me waking up and everything that I mistakenly left on end tables is on the floor. She and her "bestest buddy"...my other cat Murray, have raced around the house knocking things down. Then comes the incessant need for pets from me. Given that I have to be at work at 4:30am I am less than enthusiastic about it, but I usually give her about 15 minutes of concentrated pets and combing time. When I come home from work she is always sitting on the stairs waiting for me. I usually cringe just waiting to clear the stairs and seeing what havoc they have created. My houseplants (all nontoxic) are a favorite of hers. If I mistakenly leave a pair of earrings on the bedside stand I can be sure they are gone. My towels are always on the floor and my toilet paper is shredded about 50% of the time. Having said all of this, she is an absolute joy. Nothing comes without a price and the little bit of choas she creates in my life is worth it. She is quite loving and really doesn't seem to have a mean bone in her body. However, I could live without her crawling into the refrigerator when I don't notice and jumping out and scaring the crap out of me. I also have a shelf above my cabinets in which I keep some delicate pottery and she loves to meander around up there. So far, no damage. Everyone should have pets. They keep you on your toes. Paula

Mortimer

Our 13-year-old brown tabby, Oskar, died unexpectedly a week before Christmas 2008. We were absolutely heartbroken and the glimmer of the holidays dimmed for us and for Oskar's two feline friends, Pumpkin, a 21-year-old calico and Freia, a gray and white of about 7 or 8. As we were mourning Oskar, we were thinking of adopting a male cat, when we felt ready. We glanced at the DCFoF website and so many cats needed forever homes. We felt that the best way we could honor Oskar's memory was to give another cat a home. We described the cat that we wanted, a big and friendly orange tabby adult male and Margie suggested Mortimer. We fell in love with him on the website and our friends and co-workers agreed that he looked like a very nice cat. We arranged a visit to his foster home at Geri's the day after Christmas, just to look, because we still were not ready a week after Oskar's death. We said to ourselves, we are just going to look and not make a decision yet. Mortimer was very affectionate and enjoyed being petted and held. He was doing an excellent job on convincing us to take him home. Then a cat carrier opened up and something buff streaked across the room and began to wrestle with Mortimer. Geri explained that Vinny the kitten from the Happy Cat Club was temporarily visiting. Our daughter Kari took one look at Vinny and made up her mind that she wanted him. We left Geri's promising to call when we made our decision. On the way back home, we deliberated between not taking any cats (that was out of the question), adopting only Mortimer and the pluses of the adult cat over the kitten, adopting only Vinny and making Kari happy and or adopting both Vinny and Mortimer. Only thirty minutes ago, we came just to look at cats, and now we were contemplating taking two. We got home and made the phone call committing to both cats and in several hours Geri and Betsy brought Vinny and Mortimer to our house. After a week of being separated from Freia and Pumpkin, they were integrated into the household. Mortimer was renamed Buddy and he lives up to his name. He always has something to say to us, he follows us around, he has the loudest purr. He gives headbutts and kisses and often rolls on his back wanting his belly scratched. Vinny, who has grown from a small kitten into a young adult cat, is Buddy's exercise plan, wrestling and playfighting with the bigger cat. Both cats enjoy sunning spots and perches in our home and a chance to explore the outdoors in a cat-proof fenced yard. In June, our old cat Pumpkin passed away, and Freia has made a grudging peace with the new residents. Every so often, Buddy will wash the other cats and they accept his friendly overtures. We will never forget Oskar and Pumpkin, but Buddy and Vinny have helped us turn our grief into healing. In September, we adopted Cubby, a tortie/tabby who has become Vinny's ally in mischief. Thank you DCFoF and Happy Cat Club for giving us these wonderful cats. Buddy and Vinny are also on youtube at www.youtube.com/larsensrock Jeff, Inna and Kari Larsen Madison, WI

Mr. Beckett

I'm not at all certain I picked the B’s, as I call them. Amy sent me to the special needs adoption fair to meet them. She thought they might like me. First, Mr. Beckett sat in my arms checking me out, then Billy sat next to me to soak up pets. I've had a lot of feral cats float through my home, but I've never had a pair that actually liked each other and it is adorable and fascinating. They are also amazingly well socialized. I am very impressed. Mr. Beckett is busy either guarding his favorite toy on the floor or using it for a pillow - it's a little hard to tell which he has in mind. I have been known to call him Shamu but I don't think that will be for long - he's getting a lot of exercise now that he's become more comfortable hanging out with me. As for Billy, I've never had a cat who licks me before - I didn't know their tongues were so rough. Alhough it makes sense. I totally adore the B's. They are funny and sweet and take extremely good care of me. They decided I was a useful sort of human and that was that. Now they make sure I start for bed around ten and get up around six and they make me laugh. It feels as though they've always been here. I'm very glad we met. Elena