Museum of Fuzziness

The Permanent Collection

All of our cats have come from rescue organizations and individuals who rescue animals. A personal plea: please do not purchase pets from a breeder or store - there are so many wonderful homeless animals out there who need love.

	Bobbi is our newest cat. Her full name is "Special Counsel Roberta Meowler III". She was scared and huddled in the back of her cage at the adoption clinic but gave me a quick head bomp on the cheek before retreating back. We took her right there and she has been a wonderful addition to the household.
	Shumai Shumai is a total snugglebug! No shoelace or drawstring is safe. Likes to sleep in my laundry basket. Also likes to crawl up your sleeve and nuzzle your armpits.
	Chupcabra Another adoption from the incredible people at Orange Street Cats. When we went to look at her she climbed up into Helen's arms and fell asleep as if to say "I am a sweet gentle cat who only wants to be by your side." Now she is a sweet cat but she is, to paraphrase Dolemite, a Feline Tornado! Fastest cat we've ever had. We gave her the name Chupacabra because her foster name of Buttercup seemed too ironic.
	Bagel Bagel was found as a kitten in a trash compactor by two of OSC's extraordinary cat rescuers. She was nearly dead from hypothermia and her recovery was considered a miracle. She is sister to Cream Cheese and a lovable scamp of cat. Will happily nip your calf and bounce away. Fantastic lap cat.
	Cream Cheese Another Orange Street Cat rescue. Somewhat surly (but so fuzzy!) sister to Bagel (forming the duo we call the "Deli Sisters"). She has a white strip of fur on her face that looks like she got a scar in a bar fight. The Joe Pesci of tuxedo cats. Often found in the kitchen sink.
	Hani Hani is a partially-blind cat that was rescued by Orange Street Cats. She is the best house panther ever! Loves to chase jingle toys, adores kittens, has a special fondness for Cream Cheese. She doesn't like to jump up on things like cat trees if she can't see clearly where to land so she free climbs paw over paw. She is an incredibly lithe and muscular cat.
	Nap Time with our Original Six Cats

Fostered Fuzzies

	Gino Gino wandered into our back yard one day, dirty and a bit roughed up. We gave him some food, and lots of petting. He showed up around the same time the next day and we gave him the same. On the third day, we figured he was homeless and took him to the vet to get cleaned up. He charmed the heck out of the vet tech. She picked him up and started cooing to him in French and he just totally melted into her arms. They liked him so much at the vet office that they offered to put him up for adoption for us and he got adopted by a family a few weeks later.
	Ivar We got Ivar from the Ayres Memorial Animal Shelter. Ivar was injured by a car whose driver purposely swerved to hit him. One of the shelter volunteers witnessed this and fortunately was able to get him to an animal hospital in time. He lost a leg but is otherwise intact. A very sweet and upbeat cat. We originally took Ivar in with the intention of keeping him for ourselves. Unfortunately none of the other cats were really interested in him, and he desperately wanted playmates. Our contractor was kind enough to take him in, and the last time we visited Ivar he was doing great.
	Xander Xander was abandoned by his owners and taken in by a friend of ours. Unfortunately, her cats did not get along with him, and one of them slashed his right eye. We took him in at that point and after several months of care, found him a good home. He is a Japanese Bobtail with Siamese coloring. He got his name from the character on Buffy. Fortunately, his eye seems to have recovered almost completely.
	Bela Bela was a huge (20 pounds and fit!) cat that just sauntered up to me at my garden plot, rolled onto my feet, and started purring up a storm. When I went to leave after scratching him, he ran out into traffic after me. I scooped him up and tossed him into my car. After asking the neighbors, it seemed that he was previously owned but now homeless. We got the necessary vet work done and adopted him. Several months later our contractor (who Bela absolutely adores) took him in. He and Ivar are best friends.
	Shen We were at a outdoor picnic in a friend's backyard, and I noticed this small black cat hanging out at the periphery, clearly wanting food but afraid to come too close. I was able to coax him forward and feed him. After asking around the neighborhood, it seems he was abandoned and we took him in. A few weeks later, one of Helen's co-workers adopted him. Shen loves her, and she loves Shen. He is an incredibly sweet cat.
	Lucinda Lucinda was another abandoned cat who someone captured and took to our vet. They were kind enough to keep her for a few weeks. I was at their office for one of our cats, saw her, petted her, and fell in love. We took her home and she was adopted by one of my co-workers. He took the picture of her in their Christmas tree.
	Caterina The youngest cat we ever adopted, she was eight weeks old when we took her. She was a feline tornado, scampering around all day at high speeds. Used Shalom as a pillow. Shen's parents took her in, and they are now brother and sister.
	Sneaker Sneaker showed up in our backyard one day, dirty and hungry. We fed him but couldn't get him into a carrier. After the third day, Helen wrestled him in and we took him off to the vet for flea treatment and a health check. Unfortunately, he didn't get along with one of our existing cats. After trying hard to integrate him into the family, the wonderful folks at Orange Street Cats agreed to foster him until a permanent home could be found. He's now in a loving single cat household and living the high life.

Gone But Not Forgotten

	Gouraud Gouraud was my guy. Phong really related to Helen, but Gouraud preferred to hang out with me. He was a very sweet and mellow cat, and loved to hang out on the window sill with his face in the breeze. Gouraud was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2009 and we put him to sleep. I remember sitting in the vet's office crying while he nuzzled the tears from my eyes. We buried his ashes under the lilac bush in the backyard, where he spent many happy hours lying in the breeze when it was in bloom.
	Idli I was driving between work locations when I came across a small white cat dragging himself across the street. He had garbage stuck to his fur, and was clearly in poor shape. I stopped my car about a block later and ran back to see if I could find him. I managed to grab him just as he was slipping under a fence. A woman who lived at a house nearby told me that he did have an owner nearby but he had obviously been neglected. He struggled and hissed but fell asleep as soon as I put him in a box in my car and turned the heat on. I rushed him to the vet and told work that I would be taking the rest of the day off. The vets inspected him and cleaned him up. They said that he probably would not have survived the night due to severe blood loss from fleas and an incoming ice storm. One of his back legs did not work. We were hoping that it was just because it had had tape stuck to it and was slightly atrophied from lack of movement. After a few weeks when it didn't improve, we took him in and he tested positive for Feline Infectious Peritonitis. There is no cure, and he was having an increasingly hard time moving his limbs. We took him into the vet and had him put to sleep. Helen and I cried for days afterwards. Idli had a short and hard life. However, his last few weeks were filled with warmth and love. He was fascinated with the other cats, and they treated him well. He would spend hours in our arms, purring happily. He is missed.
	Pumpkin Pumpkin was another cat who was abandoned by his owners. Our friend Kelly rescued him, but she lived in an apartment with a dog and other cats who did not get along with him. We took Pumpkin in, and he was placed with loving humans. He was one of the sweetest cats I have ever met. Pumpkin passed away in 2010.
	Phong Phong and Gouraud were brothers, and the first two cats we got. Helen really wanted cats, but I wasn't as sure. When I walked past their cage at the shelter, Gouraud put a paw through the bars towards me and gave me a pleading look. My heart broke, and I took both of them right there. Phong and Gouraud were named after the computer graphics shading models of the same name.
	Shalom We got Shalom on the first day of the Iraq war and gave him the Hebrew name for "peace". He lived up to his name by getting along with all of the other cats and was the first to greet newcomers to the house.
	Mitzvah Mitzvah became an incredibly well-adjusted cat from his start as an insane little firebrand when we got him. He charmed our contractor by going up to his toolbox, rummaging around in it, and running off with the largest paintbrush he could carry in his mouth. Loved asparagus. When the morning alarm went off, he would pace the length of your body, on your body, until you got up and gave him breakfast.
	Five The last time I was at the shelter, I saw two cats that I really fell for. One was Five, and the other Samosa. Unable to choose, I flipped a coin and took Five home. Two days later I went back for Samosa. Five was a cat's cat - we dubbed him Secret Agent Five since he always appeared to be on an important mission.
	Samosa Samosa doing what he did best - lounging about. A perfect TV watching companion, and a great uncle who loved taking kittens under his paw.
	Nipsey Nipsey was one of the most incredible cats I've ever encountered. He had a tough life, surviving both a hoarding situation and a house fire. When we adopted him our goal was to make his remaining years as happy and comfortable as possible. This picture shows him sleeping in the sun on the kitchen table, a privilege awarded to only a select few.
	Jasper We adopted Jasper from the Animal Protective Foundation in Schenectady in 2010. He loved having his belly rubbed, and was just a sweetheart of a cat. Would happily kitty crop dust you when you were sleeping.