The first thing people usually say when they hear I have 14 cats is something on the order of "Are you out of your (expletive) mind?".
Does it take a lot of maintenance? Yes, but the real question is "Is it worth it?" and that's a BIG yes!.
This whole thing started when a stray (Madonna) came to our door (married at the time) looking for food. She was very shy, and (we didn't know it at the time) pregnant! My first reaction was not to feed her, cause she might hang around. I know...pretty insensative...but hey, I've grown a bunch since those days!
I can't really go into the whole history of our cat family because it'll take many pages...What I really want to say is what a tremendous thrill it is to have all these wonderful animals living side-by-side with us. This isn't a typical house-cat scenario at all! Because we had so many, and a majority were raised with all their wild instincts intact (except killing), we have watched the pride break into family factions, establish territories, and periodically posture or reposture--depending on who wins the argument at that particular time.
We can pretty much tell who's who, just by their sound (meows) and they're all very individual. They all have different personalities, some are sweethearts and easy going, some are grumpy, and then those who fall into everything in between.
Cream Cream is the son of
Howard, and is a sweetheart. He gets along with
almost all the cats most of the time. Occasionally,
he'll put his paw down to express his authority,
especially to George who is constantly challenging
supremacy in the pride. Dart Dart is an absolute 'Wild
man' er..cat! He is out there...but he's such a
delight and he loves to be on the leading edge.
He'll try anything once! We call him "Dartman!" I
sing the TV Batman theme using 'dartman' instead,
and I think he knows..because he always talks to me
when I start singing. Dash Dash is a great big
lovable cat who stands on his hind legs wraps his
front legs around and hugs your leg when he wants
attention! His feeling get hurt very easily. He
'lives' for a lap to snooze in in the evening when
we watch TV! Dodge I a perfectly shaped black
Tabby and a very very gentle kitty! He and Dart
play constantly running through the house hiding,
attacking each other...It's a blast to
watch! Emily Emily is a real 'Southern
Belle'. She's gentle and has the cutest little
meow! George -
deceased George was a kitten who
was tossed together with his sister Gracie on the
side of a road in a taped up cardboard box. He is
the most verbal cat we have ever met. He has a very
large number of sounds and expressions, He has a
'sing song' group of meows he uses a lot as he
walks through the house..It must be some version of
kitty singing...! I miss George a lot... Gracie Gracie is a small little
dynamo. She and George gave birth to Dart, Dash,
and Dodge. When they were very young, NONE of the
other cats dared even come close to the back
bedroom for fear of this little Tasmanian Devil who
took after any and all cats (besides George of
course) to keep them away from her
kittens! Howard
(Ms.) Howard was a male, or so
we thought until she decided to get pregnant and
have kittens! The reason for this is she was raised
wild..It has taken 6 years to get her comfortable
enough to let us pet her and she'll even get in our
laps once in a while! Madonna Madonna is the start of
all of this (with the exception of Rupert who came
with Andrea). We called her Madonna because she was
always getting pregnant, and because she was wild,
it took us about a year or so to capture her and
get her fixed! Max
(Maximillian) Max is the son of
Howard...He's the "Cool Dude!" Max will come to me
anytime I call. Back in the days when we let them
run free, he would come from wherever he happened
to be at a run anytime I called his name. This is a
gentleman and a sweetheart of a cat...An Orange
Tabby! Mikey Mikey is absolutely
georgeous. Her eyes are incredible as well as her
gray and back swirl markings. Oscar -
deceased Oscar was huge! He came to
us when we lived in Las Vegas and never left. Oscar
was a "Mr. Mom" When we brought home George and
Gracie. He raised and taught them...and did a damn
good job! He was a gentlemen..well mannered and not
aware of his size at all. Rupert -
deceased Rupert was the absolute
first cat in the house! He came with Andrea and she
found him in a dumpster when he was a few inches
long! Rupert passed away and we miss him terribly.
He was so very special that words cannot possibly
describe him! Rupert was a phoenominal influence on
all of us! Shara Shara is our 'Jewish
Princess'! She has a great face, but 'bitches' a
lot whenever other cats get anywhere near her
(which is almost all the time - given the number of
cats we have!). She literally barks the throaty
"Whuuff" that dogs do...! It's very funny to hear
this sound coming out of a cat!