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Jules, Vincent and Butch!
Why did we name our cats "Jules," "Vincent" and
"Butch?"
Those are the names of characters in "Pulp
Fiction" (Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta and Bruce Willis).
Alabama and Clarence (both now deceased) were named for characters in
our favorite movie, "True Romance" (Patricia Arquette and Christian Slater).
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5/28/10 Cat update: everyone is just fine.
Butch stays outside during the day and sleeps in the garage at night.
Gene has finally been able to pick up Butch a few times. It took 1 1/2
years of endless snacks, warm Frisbees and food to get to that point.
I'm thinking that in his past life, poor Butch was probably mistreated
by a man.
Jules and Vincent are trying on their new
personalities now that their big brother has "moved to Cancun." Vincent
is now very aggressive about being my lap boy (yay!) and spends all his
time there if I'm in my chair, otherwise he lies in his cushy bed
between Momma and Papa's chairs. His autism seems to be getting better
(he's 9 now) so he isn't as jumpy and will even be in the same room with
strangers, as long as there isn't a lot of noise. He's still stubborn as
hell!
Jules is a love bug, and his personality
hasn't changed much. I think that winning the Butch War and losing his
alpha cat have mellowed him out. He can afford to be magnanimous in his
victory. I worry about his health because he weighs 20 pounds, but so
far we're working under the theory that it would be more stressful to
feed him twice a day than it's worth, but we (and our vet) are watching
him carefully. |
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11/17/09 |
Alabama
"Moosie" Worley Cox
RIP
~Aug. 2000 - Nov. 17, 2009
(Cancer)
Companion
Sweet friend
Heart of my heart
Where do you think we
should go, my little turtle dove?
Cancun.
Cancun? Why Cancun?
It's got a nice ring to
it. It sounds like a movie. Clarence and Alabama Go to Cancun. Don't you think?
In my movie, darling, you
get top billing. Don't you worry about nothin', all right? It's all
gonna work out for us. We deserve it.
--
True Romance |
Brothers forever
11/17/09
(L-R) Alabama, Jules, Vincent |
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11/09 Butch has become such a love. He and I
have worked through our trust issues (mostly) and now he loves me (and
only me) to pick him up and hold him. He'd sit in my lap all day long if
I'd let him. I make sure that I hold him every day to keep him
acclimated to it. He follows me
around outside like a little dog. If he gets too far ahead he'll sit and
wait, and if I get ahead and call him he'll run to catch up. It's very
endearing. I wish it could have worked to have him in the house. For an
outdoor kitty, he sure is spoiled. He's getting fat to prove it. |
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Butch in a brief peaceful moment. We've fattened him up nicely and his
coat looks so much better than it did. |
Alabama and Butch made an attempt at peace. It was brief though because
Jules came over the back of the couch and the fight was on. |
Butch, busted with his octopus (formerly Jules' octopus).
That's his favorite toy and it moved outside with him. Of course now
that he's outside, he thinks that lizards, mice and birds are toys. He's quite a little
hunter. |
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3/09 Butch came to us back in November, '08. We
had him neutered, got him his shots, had him checked out thoroughly and
brought him into the house. Some tooth decay and a tick were his worst
problems, other than malnutrition (someone had dropped him off and he
was starving). He's about 6 or so, but he's been badly mishandled and
therefore he feels that the best defense is a good offense. Who knew
that he'd live up to his name so well! He's had to move back outside
because the other cats were relentless and wouldn't leave him alone. He
was "marking his territory" all over the house, including our bed. Ew!
He's just now starting to trust me; the
giver of food, warm "Frisbees" and all things good. He's starting to
vocalize when I approach him and the other day he (very tentatively and
just for a couple of minutes) got up into my lap! We keep him as protected
as we can up on the studio deck (we live in a rural area with lots of
wild things around), and he loves nothing more than to lie on a towel
with his face turned up to the sun. He's black on top, but very red
underneath, and he's really sweet unless he feels cornered. I think that
with lots of love and patience he'll be a little love bug.
Whoever gave him up was really unclear on
how to care for cats. I suspect that he was someone's lap sweetie but
something happened that forced his owners to feel they should dump him.
If you have a cat that you cannot keep, please (in order of preference)
find him a good home, give him to a no-kill shelter, put him in an
established feral cat colony with the permission of the colony manager
(spay/neuter, rabies and other shots, clipped ear). If you've run out of
options, have him euthanized by a vet. House cats can't hunt for
themselves and it's cruel to release them. Don't take them to an animal
shelter where they could be gassed under horrible conditions. There's a
reason it's free.
If you have pets, please spay or neuter
them and get them their checkups and shots regularly. We've domesticated
these animals to the point that they can no longer take care of
themselves. It's our responsibility to care for them. |
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1/07 Jules has
discovered that he just LOVES Christmas ribbon. We drape it all over him
and then he'll just sit perfectly still for up to 15 minutes. After
a while he just takes a walk and rubs up against furniture so that the
ribbon will slip off. He also loves to sit with his octopus (upper left
in photo) on his head. Silly kid! Our precious "runt" is now the
heavyweight of the house at 17 pounds! He is also solid muscle.
Jules has turned into a very sweet and
friendly kitty. He loves both Gene and I and all he has to do for loving
is give either of us "the look" and let out a tiny, pitiful
cry. We can't resist.
After reading up on the "breed," I think
he must be a "Bombay" cat. He's heavy for his size, very friendly and
incredibly smart. He looks exactly like a Bombay, right down to his big,
round eyes. |
| 1/3/07 I made a little movie of Vincent!
Since he's VERY shy, this may be the only way to see him being so sweet.
Click the heart with Vincent's silhouette at right to start the video. It
may take a while to download, so please be patient (it takes about 2
minutes to download on my DSL line).
Every time I've played the video, Vincent
has come running! |
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8/03 Ferocious Vincent has
caught his tail! One day I heard all this scratching around on the chair
and turned around to see Vincent chasing his tail. I can't believe the
luck involved in getting this picture at exactly the right moment.
He weighs 12 whole pounds now!
He's the lightest of our boyz but he's really tall and long boned.
Vincent is our 'special needs'
child. He's very skittish and gets overwhelmed easily but he's so sweet.
He's taken to following me around right at my feet and he looks up
at me and walks ahead of me when he wants a snack. He is a total snack
hound, which is good because he has the skinniest kitty butt I've ever
seen!
Click the picture to check out
a close-up of his ferocious face!
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'Bama weighs 14 pounds now and
is the heaviest of the boyz. He's mostly fur though. |
8/03 I can't stand it! He's
just so darned cute! That's Alabama sleeping on my art table, his favorite
spot. He loves to sleep in box lids too.
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8/03
Here's our 'Bama boy sleeping. That face was just too cute. I had to have
a picture!
'Bama is the king of the
house-hold but he's very benevolent. He absolutely adores me and follows
me everywhere. He and I have a strong bond and communicate very well. He
talks to me constantly (and bitches at me too), loves being brushed and
now loves being held (for short periods). He even asks to be picked up! |
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7/03 Not to be outdone in the
I'm-sure-cute-when I sleep department, just check out our Julie Boy. He's
sleeping on my art table while I work. It's a rare but beautiful thing.
Jules, the former runt, is the
now the power-lifter of the bunch. He walks like a muscle kitty and is
really powerful and strong. He weighs 13 pounds. We used to call him
'runt.' I think he took it to heart and started pumping kitty iron.
He's definitely the smartest and most dexterous of the bunch. He's
really good at catching things in mid-air and loves figuring out how
things work. For such a curious guy he's just no trouble at all and rarely
breaks things or knocks things over.
Jules loves Gene and follows
him around. I'll do in a pinch but he loves for Gene to play with him and
talk to him. He cries (pitifully) when Gene is behind a closed door. |
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Hi, I'm Alabama and my mom
just brushed me. Aren't I beautiful? The sun is shining on me from the
window and Mom can't help photographing me when I look my best. You should
see how many photos she has of me that aren't on this site. It's a good
thing they make computers with lots of hard drive space these days.
Well, I'm going to go take a
nap now. Being brushed is my favorite thing but I purr so hard it wears me
out. |
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12/26/01 The brothers are checking out their new bed from Aunt Diann and
Uncle Don. Jules (blue collar), Vincent (pink/yellow collar and 'Bama (the
gorgeous one). They love it! |
12/26/01 Update:
The little brothers are getting harder to tell apart now. Vincent had an
eye infection when we got him and now that it's all better his eyes are
much bigger. That was an easy way to tell him from Jules. Now Jules is
getting bigger (he's not a runt anymore) and his coat is a lot more shiny
and black so they look very similar. They are not biological brothers and
their personalities are completely different but their looks are close.
'Bama has decided that he
likes them and he and Jules are quite close. I think that Jules thinks
that 'Bama is "mom." I think that Vincent thinks that I am
"mom." He loves to sit in my lap and roll around and purr while
I pet and play with him. It's really quite adorable. He's very skittish
and Jules is still our intrepid warrior. He isn't afraid of anything! |
That's Jules on the left and Vincent on the right. This is their first day
home (10-8-01). They are 9 weeks old and LOVE playing together. |
'Bama is watching the new babies (from a safe,
elevated distance). He is REALLY not sure about this. |
Hi, I'm the most beautiful cat in the house
and I know it!
I also weigh 13.5 pounds! |
Jules, into everything on Mom's desk. He's a
very curious guy. |
Vincent is a natural! He is such a lap kitten.
He loves nothing more that to be held and petted and kissed. He loves
hugs. |
40,000,000 soft things in the house and Jules
chooses to sleep on the fax machine. Believe it or not he is a perpetual
motion machine. He is either on or off. He loves sitting in our laps and
being petted when HE'S ready.
Alabama observing Jules |
Great profile shot of the babies. They usually
sleep together in their bed but they are growing fast! Jules is in the
front. |
Vincent has small little eyes, short rounded
ears and is jet black and soft. Jules (front) has longer, pointier
features and is a lighter, almost charcoal brown color of black. Jules is
also only about 2/3 the size of Vincent. One of his many nicknames is "Rat
Boy." I think this photo says it all. |
Clarence Worley Cox
RIP
Aug. 2000 - July 21, 2001
(Feline infectious peritonitis)
11 months on Earth
7 months in our lives
Forever in our hearts
Thank you, Dr. Beth |
Dear Clarence on his last day. |
Clarence and Alabama checking out one of their
favorite places. |
And look who else loves Clarence already! |
Alabama doing what he loves best, being close
to humans without actually touching them |
They love to play together! |
Gene loves 'Bama too! |
Clarence loves the teddy bear he got from Terri Roberts. It was his first
toy! |
Awwwwwwww |
Clarence's first bath (he thought it was
great!) |
Clarence on his first day home |
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