Seven Horses, seven cats and ... ONE DOG??? (is that fair?)
As you drive up, Fluffy will greet you, rising from her napping spot on the porch. In 1998, we
adopted a fluffy little Chow-Sheltie mix from the Boone County pound, against the advice of the
workers who warned us she could hurt our child. Flufferupogus, Puppy Girl, Woofels has never
made any effort to even discourage her human big sister from harassing her, showing extreme tolerance.
A good 'varmit' dog, Fluffy warns us immediately if a 'possum, 'coon, squirrel or unknown cat
ventures on the property. Recently dubbed 'Princess Fluffina' by a five-year-old guest, she
also ensures the cats get plenty of exercise, the girls more than the boys. Toss the climbing
rope for her or give her a good back scratching and she'll run 'happy dog circles' for you, chasing
her tail in a frenzy.
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Cats are like potato chips - no one can have just one! Our cats are all
neutered and we encourage everyone everywhere to do likewise. Some walked in on
their own paws, others came from shelters. In no particular order, they are:
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Brothers... BJ and Ravenpaw are litter mates. They came
to us in August 2005. Before that they lived in an apartment and their favorite pastime was watching TV. Since 'BJ' potentially stands for 'Boy Jester', can you guess which is which?
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Squeak Our oldest kitty of known age is Squeaker, a shy sandy tiger
whose mom dropped her in the milkhouse (outside the kitchen door where the kitty condos are) nine
years ago shortly after we moved. Squeak was probably only a week or two old. We'd
gotten a beautiful long-haired calico with the farm and moved Jen's 19-year-old black and white cat,
but both died within the next two years and Squeak took her place as our oldest feline resident.
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Sara is a beautiful long-haired white cat, could be elderly. She's really neurotic, will rub all over you and
beg for attention, then bite or claw without notice. She came wandering in through the fields and discovered
where we feed the other cats in the milk house. Sara does not claim to belong to us or anybody, but she returns
to the milk house on a regular basis.
A friend did reiki on Sara for a week while house-sitting for us and she's much nicer than she used to be, but as a
psychologist guest once told us, she still suffers from a passive-agressive disorder...
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Monkey, a gray kitty who looks like a Russian blue, is currently the only grown-up kitty who
is still allowed in the house. She and her brother, Tiger were dumped on our road about seven years ago. Her brother was a
tiger kitty and very sweet who disappeared without a trace, we assume eaten by coyotes as many small animals disappeared
that spring.
Although she pretends not to like being picked up, Monkey loves to snuggle on the comforter at the foot of the bed. If you
leave your door unlatched, she'll likely come visit you sometime during the night.
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Tig (aka Tiggle Wiggle, aka the Nasty Cat) is a yellow-eyed brown and black
tiger, about seven years old who walked in our front door and proceeded directly to the kitchen cat food bowl nearly seven
years ago as guest were departing one Sunday morning. We ecstatically believed she was Monkey's brother, Tiger come home
after a 9 month absence, until the vet who treated her digestive problems informed us that this was a girl kitty. So we
shortened "Tiger" to "Tig" and added her to our feline family.
The vet also took out Tig's stitches from being recently neutered and also pointed out that she had been declawed.
Somebody spent some money on her and then either dumped her or she ran off. She's been here ever since.
Generally grouchy and complaining (hence the moniker 'Nasty Cat') her favorite hobby is to sneak in through open car windows
and nap inside, so if you left your windows down, better check the back seat before you drive off - you may have an
unexpected passenger. If she can't get inside your car, she'll likely sit on top of it.
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Sasha we think is a Tonkinese, a breed created in the '70s by crossing Burmese and Siamese to get a very affectionate
cat. A two-year-old, he joined us in April 2007 after spending the terribly cold winter outside our piano teacher's house in Erlanger. She,
of course, bought him a dog house, filled it with cat beds and fed him canned food multiple times a day. After we brought him home, Dana suggested
we name him Wyatt because his talent is urping.
We shampooed carpet daily for weeks until his "sensitive stomach" calmed down, but his unceasing demands likely never will! We suspect he drove
someone so nuts that they threw him out despite their investment. He yowls for stinky canned food, but is very sweet and lovey when his
ever-growing stomach is full.
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We're getting more and more emails from guests who check our website to see their favorite animals from their visit with us. We'd been taking off
photos of those who are no longer with us, but decided to let you know what happened as much as we can. When small animals disappear suddenly
without a trace, we assume coyotes are the cause. Even tho we try to keep them inside at night when the coyotes usually hunt, we've lost several
kitties in recent years. Each of them was healthy and neutered.
Our introduction to coyotes as predators came in about 2000. Monkey's brother Tiger, a sweet brown and black tiger
kitty was dumped on the road in 1998. Knowing how many kittens are killed at pounds each spring, Jen asked the neighbor to bring them back if she
didn't find their owner. A very sweet and affectionate boy, Tiger disappeared at two when we first learned the coyotes were around. The neighbor's
terrier, Beagle and ducks disappeared then too.
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Jake In 2005, the orange and white kitty of a thousand names, who ended up dubbed Jake by a five-year-old guest of that
name, disappeared at two. He had walked in on his own little paws and managed to elude Fluffy, who would run off or kill any animals that didn't belong on
the property. Once she understood that Jake was a welcome addition and began to tolerate him, it was particularly funny to watch him rub up against her
leg affectionately.
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Casey, a rubber kitty who would stretch out upside down and purr, was a Maine Coon mix from the Boone County Animal
Shelter. The most beautiful kitty in the world disappeared in the heat wave of July 2006. He's been a big investment: Close encounters with
predators had left him with a broken tail ($250 in vet bills), and a shoulder abscess ($80) not to mention all the effort expense it took to get
him healthy and growing when he came to us as a tiny little ball of fluff. One newlywed couple had spent an entire afternoon laying on the dinning
room floor playing with him when he was just a few months old.
Casey loved to snuggle and was particularly fond of Canteloupe. Whenever we prepared canteloupe for breakfast, he would sit in the kitchen and cry until
we gave him some of it.
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Tom Tiger was the big fat lovey kitty who sat on the front porch, purring and kneading anyone who'd join him. He would
move enough to mosey to the barn to get pets when people were grooming horses. Tom also disappeared during the 90+ degree temperatures. We
suspect keeping Fluffy in the air conditioning prevented her from patrolling her territory to deter the coyotes. Tom evidently hadn't had cat
food before he arrived here, so he'd eat at the dog dish if the cat food bowl was empty.
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Skinney little Minnie kitty, a beautiful Siamese-tiger mix, adopted from a Cincinnati cat shelter, had medical problems
that made her health deteriorate. We had her put down in 2005 before winter would have made her even more miserable.
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