Div's Cats

Apparently, there's a law which says that anyone who puts up a website must include pictures of their cats, even if no visitor is ever interested in seeing them. As such, here are my babies. Aren't they cute?!

Melody

Melody was my first cat, a sweet little girl I found hiding behind the drier in the laundry room of my old apartment. She was harness trained, and loved to travel, even after having been in a serious car accident with me. She was also very musical, and liked to play "Kitten on the Keys" on the synthesizer. She passed away in 2018.

Piccolo

Piccolo was a kittenish little guy who was very playful - when not hiding from his own shadow! I adopted him as a semi-feral (undomesticated) baby from the Buddy Dog Humane Society where I've volunteered for many years. I used to introduce him as "the lump", as that's all you could see of him in his favorite spot under the bedcovers. He passed away a few months after Melody, after a lifetime together.

Symphony

Symphony came to me as a young, pregnant mother, little more than a kitten herself. She was only supposed to stay for temporary foster care, but she's such a love, and got along so well with Mel and Pickle that I decided to keep her after the kittens found homes. She's now the senior cat of the house, very much in charge of the place, and often insists on sitting in my lap no matter what I'm doing (which makes eating a bowl of soup rather challenging).

Ben and Jerry

Because of a lingering illness my foster babies Ben and Jerry weren't able to be adopted at the shelter, so they settled in with me as permanent residents. Sadly, Jerry passed away the same difficult year as Mel and Pickle, and Benny followed a few years later.

Inkling

Ink is another foster baby who settled in to stay. She's a very gregarious, cuddly cat who flops over to have her belly rubbed at every opportunity. Now, no matter the subject, I might not be an expert but at least I have an Inkling.

Rocky

Rocky (Rachmaninoff, if we're being formal) was a goofy, poofy stray who came to stay with me when the shelter shut down for the pandemic of 2020. A very sweet guy who was always climbing in my lap, it became clear he was meant to be a permanent member of the household even when the quarantine was over. Unfortunately he succumbed to cancer a few years later.

Libby

Hey wait, that's not a cat! But Libby (Quodlibet, to stick with the musical theme even though it's particularly ridiculous) isn't much bigger than they are and plays with them as if she's a kitten herself. She came to the shelter as an expectant mother, and while she was there raising her pups she won over this lifelong cat guy. She's now my adventure buddy, and loves going on hikes and road trips in the Miata.

Fiddler and Piper

The newest members of my brood are ridiculously cuddly little ones!

Foster Cats and Kittens

I've fostered many litters of kittens for the shelter until they were old enough to be adopted. It can be a lot of work (kittens are pretty messy, and until weaned require round-the-clock feeding), but they're extremely cute. More recently I've started fostering the occasional older cat as well, for health or socialization reasons. At this point I'm up to a few hundred fosters total.

September, 2024: Jubilee, Trafalgar, Wembley, Waterloo, Piccadilly, Putney, and Victoria

This large batch of friendly kittens was rescued from an unhealthy hoarding situation, and was probably actually at least two litters mixed together. The name theme is the London Underground.

July, 2024: Kelly, Kendra, Cindy, Tabby, Katrina, and Wally

We combined a litter of two - Kelly and Kendra - with a litter of three - Cindy, Tabby, and Katrina - and a single foundling - Wally, and they all got along great! Kelly and Kendra were adopted very quickly and I decided to keep Katrina and Wally myself, now named Piper and Fiddler. For no good reason, Cindy and Tabby are taking longer to find a match - go figure!

May, 2024: Didot, Helvetica, Caslon, Garamond, and Futura

In addition to my other geeky interests I rather like fonts, and named this litter after some of the classics. The boys are serif and the girls are sans.

January, 2024: Pearl, Onyx, Jade, Alexandrite, and Morganite

Momma Pearl and her semiprecious kittens were real gems. Who are we kidding, they're thoroughly precious!

October, 2023: Pringa, Toblerone, Cadbury, Godiva, and Milka

Momma Pringa and her babies were evicted by a mean landlord, so they came to stay with me instead. The name theme, of course, is chocolate.

September, 2023: Angel and Lexi

A friendly little pair who were adopted very quickly.

August, 2023: Ursa Minor

This little bear was all alone and had a cold, so we couldn't mix her in with any other kittens. I looked after her until she was all better and adopted.

July, 2023: Persimmon and Satsuma

Get your dose of vitamin C - and cuteness!

April, 2023: Quandary, Riddle, and Cypher

This sweet young cat found herself in a quandary - where could she have her kittens? The answer was here!

February, 2023: Mr. Darcy

Darcy the cat was perfectly sweet, not aloof and judgemental like his literary namesake. He came to stay with me for a bit while he was under the weather.

January, 2023: Kilo, Milli, Micro, and Pico

These little ones certainly measured up!

November, 2022: Emmy Lou

Emmy Lou was under the weather at the shelter and came to stay with me for a bit while she recovered.

October, 2022: Maxine, Moritz, Misty, and Hank

Another sweet little litter who were adopted very quickly.

July, 2022: Beauty, Rudy, Felix, and Kyra

You can tell which name themes I came up with myself, and which the kittens came with from the shelter. This was a friendly little litter.

April, 2022: Escher and Penrose

This was another pair of ferals who we never managed to win over despite months of socialization, so they also ended up being adopted as "spirit cats." The younger you start socializing ferals, the better chance you have of getting them to trust you. The name theme is a geeky intersection of math and art.

February, 2022: Paisley, Gingham, Tattersall, and Argyle

These little cuties had incredible patterns in their fur, so I named them after fabric patterns.

September, 2021: Sedona, Tucson, Waldo, and Henry

Momma Sedona and her baby Tucson welcomed two separate foundlings into the litter to form one big happy family. And yes, if you scrolled this far, congratulations for finding Waldo.

July, 2021: Uno, Cribbage, Blackjack, and Pinochle

A playful litter named after card games.

June, 2021: Mambo, Bolero, Tango, Cumbia, Bossa Nova, and Rumba

A big, friendly litter named after Latin dances.

January, 2021: Doppler

After a tough life on the streets, sweet old Doppler came to live in comfort with me for her last weeks of hospice care. She did live up to her name, meowing like a siren in the car, although she was quiet and happy at home.

September, 2020: Bartlett and Anjou

This little "pear" of ferals was unusually reluctant to start to trust us. After several months of socialization, we decided to adopt them out as "spirit cats" - ones who are happy to share a home with you but never really want to be petted.

June, 2020: Vespa, Lambretta, Harley, Triumph, Ducati, and Ninja

This litter of feral babies purred like motorcycle engines once we won them over. Ninja was a younger foundling who was very happy to join in.

February, 2020: Mateo and Sol

This little pair of adolescents from Puerto Rico went from shy to very cuddly in only a few days. They came to stay with me while getting over a cold.

January, 2020: Molasses

Moe was a very sweet, gentle, elderly stray who came to stay with me while trying to build up his strength after a tough life on the streets. I had made up my mind to make him a permanent member of the household, but his health took a sudden turn for the worse and he passed away. I have the consolation of knowing that his last month was a comfortable, happy time for him.

June, 2019: Gabriella, Serendipity, Kismet, and Boon

Mamma Gabby arrived at the shelter from Alabama with three sweet and very young kittens. What I didn't know at the time was that they had also brought along a bunch of indestructable fleas that took the rest of the rather itchy year to finally remove from my house.

March, 2019: Alvin, Simon, and Theodore

This trio of feral adolescents was found cowering in a cardboard box in the Bronx. I fostered them for a month to build up their confidence and get them used to people. Unfortunately I never got any good pictures of them, since they spent most of their time huddled together in the corner when I wasn't actively holding them.

February, 2019: Clifton and Poppy

This pair of adolescents needed a few weeks away from the shelter while they were recovering from a cold.

February 2019: Maisey and Daisy

This exotic little pair was very delicate, with extremely short hair. They stayed with me for a number of months and overlapped with the next few litters while we kept an eye on them for health reasons. They were very cuddly and playful.

September, 2018: Dremel, Sawzall, Makita, Husqvarna, Ryobi, and Hilti

This was a big, friendly, playful litter. They didn't actually demolish the house despite being named after power tools. Hilti decided to stay, and I ended up calling her Inkling.

July, 2018: Limerick, Haiku, Sonnet, Pantoum, and Sestina

This poetic little quartet arrived at the shelter without a mother. Sestina came in on her own around the same time and happily joined in with the others.

April, 2018: Grace

Grace was a friendly cat who ended up not being pregnant after all. She moved in with me for a few months, but ultimately quarrelled too much with Symphony, so we found her another home.

August, 2016: Danny Boy, Lillibulero, Skellamesago, Planxty, Coleraine, and Figary

These friendly little guys arrived at the shelter without their mother. I named them after traditional folk songs and dances from the British isles, and played all of their songs for them. Danny and Planxty went home with my neighbors, so I get to see them all the time from my window.

May, 2016: Pia, Ben, and Jerry

Pia stayed at my house quite a while before finally deciding to give birth... I was nearly sure she wasn't actually pregnant at all. I called the babies Yin and Yang for obvious reasons, but we decided to hold a naming contest at the shelter, and the winner came up with an even sweeter pair of names for them.

October, 2015: Fettuccini, Gnocchi, Farfalle, Linguini, and Rigatoni

Look at these silly little noodles! Gnocchi and Linguini got to go home with a friend of mine.

June, 2015: Perdita, Imogen, Ophelia, Cordelia, Octavia, Portia, Hermia, Oberon, Banquo, and Puck

We had a double litter come into the shelter... two mothers who were in turn sisters, and their intermingled babies. Fortunately my sister was here to help me with them, since this was more cats than I'd ever had at once in the house before. The naming theme, of course, is Shakespeare.

February, 2015: Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, and James Dean

My sister and I named Audrey and her kittens after classic movie stars. She always calls them by their full names. Sadly, Audrey was terribly sick when it was time for her to give birth, and the other three babies didn't pull through despite the vet and my best efforts at midwifery and emergency infant care.

February, 2015: Franklin, Edison, and Faraday

My sister helped me raise these little guys, all named after electrical inventors (shocking!). Sadly, this was a really tough year for kittens... little Tesla was born with a heart defect, and didn't pull through.

July, 2014: Uke, Zouk, Banjo, and Kazoo

These little guys were ready to form a band. Actually, Zook and Kazoo went home together with friends from my real band, and now they're living in Ireland.

June, 2014: Diesel

Diesel was rescued from inside a truck engine... not a good place for a kitten to be! Fortunately he was only scared, not hurt.

April, 2014: Macy, Portobello, Chanterelle, Enoki, Champignon, and Truffle

Macy's kittens are all named after mushrooms. Chanterelle and Truffle respectively went home with friends of mine.

August, 2013: Emmy, Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Ginny

Since Emmy gave birth to a larger than normal number of ginger kittens, we decided to name them after the red-headed Weasley family from the Harry Potter books.

May, 2013: Nala, Migi, Hidari, Teppen, Soko, Naka, and Chaplin

I named Nala's five kittens after the words for directions in Japanese - right, left, top, bottom, and center. Chaplin, complete with Little Tramp moustache, came into the shelter on his own. Fortunately, Nala welcomed him into the litter even though he was a few weeks older than her own babies.

December, 2012: Carly

Carly stayed with me over Christmas while she was recovering from an injury which cost her an eye. It didn't slow her down, however, and she had a great time playing with Mel.

October, 2012: Stella, Aura, Calliope, Zephyr, and Nimbus

We gave Stella's kittens nature names from classical mythology.

September, 2012: Darjeeling, Earl, Lapsang, and Sencha

We named Darjeeling and her babies after different types of tea.

June, 2012: Chloe, Gelato, and Tiramisu

Most kittens are sweet, but we named this pair after desserts! Chloe gave birth to them after a surprisingly long pregnancy, so she ended up overlapping her stay with Pangur, even though they didn't really interact.

June, 2012: Pangur Bán

Pangur Bán is the title character of a medieval Irish poem about a monk and his pet cat. I wrote music to go with the poem, and sang it to Pangur the kitten. She and Melody got along really well, as she tends to like kittens who look like miniature versions of herself.

May, 2012: Charlotte, Topper, Fez, Trilby, and Tam

Charlotte's kittens are the cats in the hats.

April, 2012: Sofia, Samara, Minsk, Pinsk, Odessa, and Riga

We named Sofia and her kittens after Eastern European cities. The pairing of Minsk and Pinsk should be familiar if you're a Tom Lehrer fan.

February, 2012: Yeti and Acadia

Yeti the Himalayan and Acadia the Maine Coon were the first purebred-looking kittens to come my way, and they arrived at the same time.

January, 2012: Widdershins

Widders was a playful little singleton. His name is an archaic word for "counterclockwise".

November, 2011: Spooky, Candy, Spirit, and Boo

These little ones arrived at the shelter on Halloween. You never would have guessed that from their names, right?

September, 2011: Cardamom, Tarragon, Caroway, Dill, Clove, Masala, Fennel, and Sage

Cardi gave birth to my biggest litter to date, and was the first mom to actually use the birthing box instead of making a mess of the house.

July, 2011: Miss Marple, Poirot, and Wimsey

Marple and Poirot were siblings who arrived at the shelter the same day as little Wimsey, who was on his own. They took to each other right away and lived with me for a month.

May, 2011: Red, Chianti, Pinot, and Manischewitz

With a mom called Red, I had to name the kittens after red wines. They were born in my bed... cute, but messy!

March, 2011: Kharma

Kharma, while very sweet, turned out to be a false alarm... she wasn't actually pregnant!

December, 2010: Penny Lane

Penny was already six weeks old when she came to the shelter so I didn't get to foster her for very long, but she was very sweet.

October, 2010: McGuffin

A workman found this little three week old when he heard mewing coming from inside a stone wall. Apparently Guff had fallen in and been abandoned by his mother. I nursed him back to health, and he rapidly grew into a rambunctious little mischief maker.

May, 2010: Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Dandelion

This sweet little trio came to me as four week olds. They hold the record as my messiest kittens to date, as they had a bad case of worms, but we got them all cleared up before they were ready to be adopted.

February, 2010: Gizelle, Gingko, Juniper, Teak, Willow, Hickory, and Sassafras

Zellie gave birth to this large litter at my house right around New Year's, which is very out of season. Before I came up with the theme of naming them after trees, I enumerated the kittens as A through F, based on how much of their fur was white. While she was nice to me, Zellie liked to pick fights with my guys, so I was glad when it was time for her to go back to the shelter. My dad decided to adopt little Willow, who now rules the roost at his house.

October, 2009: Casey, Radhika, Vijay, Geetha, and Shelby

Casey gave birth to her kittens at the shelter, and I brought them home the very next day. Just because I like the way they sound, I decided they should have mostly Indian names. Radhika and Geetha are the girls, Vijay and Shelby are the boys. My friend Anna decided to adopt little Radhika and renamed her Sparrow, so I've gotten to watch her grow up as well.

June, 2009: Rain, Troglodyte, Sigmund, Poem, Ril, and Froggy

Rain was the most attentive mother of all the litters I've fostered so far; she trained her babies so well, it was almost no work to take care of them. I was worried about little Froggy at first, since she was born with a hip displacement (hence the name; it looked like she was doing little frog kicks), but it didn't slow her down at all, and cleared up completely by the time she was ready to be adopted. My sister decided to adopt little Trog, so I'll get to watch him growing up.

April, 2009: Cecilia, Magellan, Luna, Nanook, and Emmett

Fostering kittens is a predominantly uplifting experience, but it can have its downsides too. This litter was unfortunately very sickly, and despite the best efforts of the shelter's vets, two of the little ones didn't make it. The remaining four ended up doing fine, as did their mother Cecilia, but I didn't get to know them as well as the other litters; all my time and attention was taken up by the medical care.

July, 2008: Allegro, Andante, Rondo, and Sarabande

These are Symphony's kittens, named after the movements of a symphony. Andante and Rondo are boys, Allegro and Sarabande are girls. I played midwife and raised them from birth, although Tsimi did a very good job with them so there wasn't that much work for me to do. Yes, I did figure out how to tell them apart.

April, 2008: Speck, Pete, and Rosalita

This little trio came to me as four-week-olds. Most of my pictures of these little mischief makers are nothing but blurs!

October, 2007: Sunrise and Autumn

The first litter I fostered came to me as four-week-olds. They're such a sweet pair of little sisters.