Rufus Bear, 8/1/1996 - 4/10/.2012

Rufus' life with us ended on Thursday.  Battling cancer since December, he  remained my alarm clock, personal greeter, and companion.  His demands were few:  breakfast by 6 a.m., meds by 7, quiet nap from 7-10, more food, more nap, lunch no later than 1, nap, food at 4, attention, more attention, meds at 7, more food, companionship for reading, sewing, tv until 9, nagging for bedtime until I gave in, howling if got later than 11. I miss him.

Rob chose Rufus from the Teterboro shelter in August 1996.  When I arrived home from school, he was positioned at the end of the entry hall with what appeared to be a snowball in the palm of his hand. :)  Scootchamenz, our big, wandering tom cat, died the week before and I was a bit depressed about it. That snowball was a thoughtful, loving gift. :)

Little did we know our snowball would grow so large and be such a "scaredy" cat. But Clovis, who ruled the household, was top cat and had no patience for interlopers.  Maria fought back when Clovis over-reached, but Rufus headed for the closet.  He was afraid of friends, workmen, delivery people.  I think that Rob, Jackie and I were the only people who ever saw him!  Oh, and my sister Jackie because I don't think he could tell us apart. And, Kathryn because she radiates kindness.  He changed when Clovis and Maria were gone, came out of the closet and gradually approached for attention.  He approached more frequently until he took over our routines.  He was king of the household.

Clovis 4/13/92-11/11/2010

Clovis ran the house from the day she was born.

Jackie brought home a stray cat, suspiciously fat. A few weeks later, her bedroom closet was home to the mom and four (?) kittens.  Clovis was the largest, loudest and first able to climb out of their box :-) Jackie begged to keep her, so we found homes for the mom and the others and Clovis became part of our family.

Her name came from Stephen King's film "Sleepwalkers."  Jackie was into her horror film period.  Clovis was deputy Andy's cat.  In the film, the cat is the heroin who saves Tanya from vampire Charles and then leads the pack of cats, which had been gathering nearby, into an attack on vampire Mary thus saving Tanya again.  Jackie was 13 years old when she named Clovis.  I guess she felt that she needed protection from vampires.

Our Clovis was a character.  She is missed and remembered with love.

Maria, August 1, 1990 - February 9, 2010

The most loving kitty and a member of our family. She will be missed.

Update 11/15/2010. Maria's Story.
Tony mentioned that the guys in the metal shop were feeding a stray black kitten.  He wondered if he should bring it home to make friends with Jackie, who was giving her stepfather a rough road to travel. I think I said no.  Anyway, I arrived home from shopping with Bobby to find Jackie and Tony using one of my best towels to dry off a kitten.  The bathroom was a mess.  The two of them were thrilled because they gave the kitten a bath revealing that she was a tabby when they thought she was black.  Bobby was leaving for his first year at USC, so we decided the kitten would be his - a playful link to home.  He named her Maria.  She was affectionate, unflappable, even-tempered, and  mature beyond her years.  She scoffed at the antics of "lesser" cats and remained haughty until she wanted attention. She was a great companion.  She is missed.