We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate for having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein do we err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with the extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings: they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.
~ Henry Beston, Author (1888-1968) The Outermost House

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Prior to 1997, the only cat I had was a beautiful sealpoint Siamese, Cica.
When we adopted two kittens (Cirrus and Eclipse) from the local SPCA in the Spring of 1997,
that started us on our many-year's journey of being a multi-cat household.
How many cats did we have? Well, at one point we had a total of eight resident felines!

Over the years, as our kitties (and doggies) aged and/or developed health issues, we lost them, one by one.
Each loss was hard; some losses were devastating.



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In December 2016 when I became aware of feral kitties living near my school,
I became involved in the "TNR" program - Trap, Neuter, Return - that is offered through our local SPCA.

As of 2022, I have trapped, had spayed/neutered, and returned 7 beautiful, healthy adult ferals.
I've also trapped 5 kittens who have all been socialized and then adopted through the SPCA.

Information on my on-going TNR efforts may be found on "Simply Art-Rageous!".

All for the love of animals....

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IN MEMORY OF SPECIAL FURRIENDS
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Cica (pronounced "SEE-sa")
December 23, 1981 - April 6, 2002

The picture on the right was taken just days after Cica's 20th birthday.
A beautiful Sealpoint Siamese, Cica was my best friend for over 20 years.
This memorial garden was created over her grave.


Cica's Garden

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Spotty
September 1991 - August 23, 2006

Saying goodbye to this wonderful old beagle-lab girl
was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do....
"A Special Tribute to a Much-Loved Dog"

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Honey
February 15, 1994 - May 23, 2008

Goodbye to My Little "Velcro" Dog
The Story of Honey's Healing in 2003
Honey's New Bed: A Photo-Story

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Cirrus
Spring 1997 - March 26, 2011

Cirrus was an enormous fuzzy cat with a wonderful, affectionate personality.
She was adopted from the SPCA in June 1997.

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Niko
Summer 2003 - May 18, 2014

I fell in love with Niko, a beautiful lynxpoint Siamese,
after seeing his picture & bio on Petfinder.com.
We adopted him on November 22, 2003.

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Cat
1996 - August 12, 2014

Chessie Cat (aka "Cat") belonged to my uncle.
After his death in December 2005, my mom took her in and gave her a home.
After my mom's death in November 2012, she came to live with me.

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Eclipse
Summer 1997 - March 2015

My youngest son was Eclipse's chosen "purrson" and she was the first kitty in our family to go to college!
She was adopted from the SPCA in June 1997 and lived in Colorado with my son.

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Kai
April 16, 2002 - November 14, 2016

My beautiful flamepoint Siamese, Kai, was one of the "Three Meezeketeers".
He and two of his siblings were adopted from a shelter in June 2002.
Kai's death was completely unexpected. The vet who helped him to the "Rainbow Bridge"
said that he probably had hemangiosarcoma, the same silent form of cancer that took my dog Spotty's life.

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Riley
September 2001 - March 21, 2017
Riley was a survivor, and he apparently had far more than the allotted "nine lives."
The loss of this special cat truly broke my heart....
The Amazingly Wonderful Riley

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Aja
April 16, 2002 - February 23, 2018
My beautiful Aja....
I hope that she and Riley have found each other.




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Kian - The Last of the "Meezeketeers"
April 16, 2002 - August 19, 2019

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VISITORS

A family of groundhogs appears early each summer...

...and we have a lot of deer that visit, too.



And then there are the bats....
BATS?!

Baby Bats, Spring 2012
Baby Bats, Spring 2011
Big Brown Bat, Winter 2011
Baby Bat, Spring 2010
Baby Bat, Spring 2005

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