The Curtis Family Rescue's

The Curtis Family Rescue's

Our family had four cats in our time spent as a family; before everyone grew up and started doing things independently, four rescues, four different cats, and four different stories. Some of these I went alone on, and others I had help from family and friends.

Trixie, a tabby cat who always saw himself as a tough tomcat, walking around with his tail straight up and strutting around the house, but he jumps as high as he could when I make a hissing sound. Nearly touching the ceiling, I wondered if Trixie ever reached the ceiling, would he sink his claws in as the cartoon cats would do on T.V!

Despite all of that strutting and acting like a rough and tough tomcat, he is a tender loving cat with a lot of emotion. Well, I guess that depends on who you are. My daughter, the one who brought him to me in her pocket, Trixie can't stand her. She was too rough with him and treated him as if he were a dog.

Trixie was a good mouser and loved to hunt mice; he showed them no mercy! It was a good thing as we lived near a farmer's field, who plowed it every spring. The mice would get so bad that they would overrun your house if you did not have a good mouser cat.

Trixie stayed with me for fourteen years, and he would come up to rub your legs when he wanted attention, but if Trixie did not want attention and you did try to pet him, watch out because he would let you know!

Derick was a rescue from a local animal shelter. I got him when my daughter had just come home from the hospital. When I arrived at the shelter, I asked for the cats who had been at the shelter the longest. You want to ask this question because some shelters put animals to sleep once they cannot adopt them. I picked him because my daughter wanted a Bombay and did not realize it was Halloween when I adopted Derick. The people at the shelter asked me if I was a witch. I laughed and asked why you would ask me that, and they said it was Halloween. I explained my daughter coming home from the hospital and told them I am not a witch and that being in the hospital time got away from me.

Bombay's are typically solid black, but the one I got her had a few white spots in his fur. You couldn't tell he had white in his coat unless you got close to him as the white seemed to melt into his black fur.

Derick was a very timid cat. He had been an inside cat his whole life, and he was born at the shelter. When he and Trixie came together, they got along as long as Derick knew Trixie was the boss! Trixie taught him how to hunt mice which they both seem to have a natural ability to it, and they both made an excellent mouser team. Trixie was a month younger than Derick. They both got along so well I wondered if they had ever met before becoming brothers by adoption. I know this was impossible because Trixie was born in a different town from Derick and litter. Mice did not stand a chance once they were hot on the trail. A mouse rarely ever got away from them unless they allowed them to. If they were tired or did not want to mess with the little mice, they would allow them to escape. Derick was fifteen years old when he passed away, and he took some of my heart with him!

Patches, a calico cat, was rescued from some boys who were throwing rocks at her. As soon as we could calm her down enough to catch her, we took her in and made her a part of our family; First, we took her to the vet to ensure she was not bringing any diseases into our home.

Patches was a timid cat who only liked my younger daughter. My daughter and Patches were so close my daughter was able to teach her how to do a high-five, and she did it every time my daughter asked for it but would only high-five for her. Patches was twelve when she passed away. If I could have taken her in earlier than I was able to, she probably would have lived longer as I feed my cats the best cat food I can find.

And then Missy came into our lives. I don't know what her breed was as we were only supposed to keep her until her owners came back from vacation, but I think they saw an opportunity to abandon her. That is just what they did! They never came back for her and never asked about her.

Missy was a nutty cat and loved playing everywhere. She and my son got along very well. He uses to play with her and drag her all over the house. She would find a toy under the sofa, and that would start the chase. My son would chase her and get the toy back, and then Missy would chase him to get the toy back!

Missy was with us for five years, and she died. We are unsure why she died, but we realized much later that she might have had problems we were unaware of; her teeth looked like a kittens' teeth had she had no tail.

I currently have two Jack Russel Terriers. One has rough fur, and the other one has soft fur. They were both given to me by a friend who had a sister's dog who had a litter of pups. I was given two female dogs. One is named Tobie, and the other one is Rosie. I still have them to this day, and they are both seven years old. They are so spoiled, but I enjoy every minute of them, even when they are barking at a twig moving in the wind outside.

I may have summed up their four lives in a few sentences but living it was more fun than you know! I highly recommend anyone interested in getting an animal; go to the animal shelters first. They usually have a massive selection of dogs and cats, and I have had great experiences with everyone I have adopted, and I am sure you will too!