Zoey would love to be the only cat in the house. However, since she was the only cat in the house at Mom and Dad's house, she has adapted quite well to being one of six.

Zoey originally was my sister Emily's cat. When she moved and couldn't take her or her sister Sisal, Mom and Dad ended up with Zoey. (We got Sis a new home.) Zoey is declawed on her front feet, something I would never do to one of mine.

I think she's about 10 years old. (in 2006)

Pooh was a stray cat who appeared in Mom and Dad's yard in 2003. He had been shot with a pellet gun, and all the fur on his tail fell out except for a little tuft at the top. (Hence his name; he looked like a poodle.) He survived, the fur grew back, and he grew up to be quite a large boy. He was an all-outside cat who has adapted very well to being an all-inside cat, after that first debacle when he peed down the register at my parents' house.

This is his favorite chair. Most of the time you can find him on this chair or the other one I have like it. Sometimes he sleeps in the window sills upstairs--and takes up the whole windowsill.

He's about 4 years old, and already has gray hairs. It's kind of funny to watch him carry around a jingle ball in his mouth. And when he jumps on the back of the couch, I expect it to flip over!

(It is very difficult to get a good picture of Pooh.)

Chloe (Chloe Dearest) was a yard sale kitten. She can usually be found curled up in the strangest places (like here, on the landing at the top of the steps.) She loves to sleep on her back, and with me. She is my most-trained cat. All I have to do is tell her "No!" and snap my fingers and she stops doing whatever I don't want her to do.

She is my baby, although not a baby anymore. She also likes to sit on my lap while I'm on the computer (she just jumped on my lap, actually.) She loves to play with the others as well, and she definitely still has a bit of kitten left in her.

If I played favorites, Chloe would be my favorite.

Chloe is 2 years old.

Cleo (Cleome) came from a friend of my sister Jessica, who was moving into a new place and couldn't take her. The friend thought Cleo was a boy, and had named her Leo, but we changed that as soon as we got a second opinion that Cleo was really a girl.

She's starting to fit in, and getting along with everyone else pretty well now. I don't know much about her personality yet, other than the fact that anything hanging (including curtains) is fair game for playtime. She is learning the rules of the House, which include "No jumping on Jen's antique quilts" and "No claws on the window screens."

So far, so good. I've only lost one African Violet pot (but saved the African Violet, thank goodness.)

Cleo could not abide by the House Rules, so she is now an outside kitty.

Cleo is about 1 year old.

Misty (Kitten!! Mistalia, Mist) is not the babe anymore, but she is a very independent semi-feral kitten who now lives in the lap of kitty luxury. She purrs like a fog horn, is absolutely nutso, and likes to tear around the house as if the Wild Hunt is behind her. (I'm not saying the Hounds wouldn't chase a cat. They might.)

She was found underneath a coworker's front porch, tamed, and adopted by me in July. Since then, she has befriended everyone, including Mabel, who still thinks she should be allowed to play with the cats even though she outweighs them ten times.

She was probably born in late May 05, so she's about 1 year old.

Loki (Loki Baby, Babe, Sweet Potato) is the newbie in the house, who was either dropped off or followed someone here. He is almost five months old (born in April 06) but he is a tiny little boy yet! He only weighed 3.4 pounds at the vet's office.

It took at least two weeks for him just to trust me enough to get anywhere near me, but when he finally decided I wasn't going to eat him, he warmed up really fast. You can't tell in the picture, but his eyes are blue. I think he's got some Siamese in him.

So far, he's getting along with everyone. He's a sweetie.

Mabel (Ma Belle, Miss Mabel) is not a cat. She is an Old English Bulldog, a rescue who was being chained in a condemned building in downtown Cincinnati and was left to starve to death. By a roundabout way, she ended up at the house of one of my coworker's, who promised to find her a good home.

I think she has found a good home.

She loves carrots, apples, peanut butter, zucchini, and ice cubes, among other things. She gets along with the cats, and they get along with her, but she hasn't quite figured out that she can't really play with them yet.

She loves to chase her squeaky ball, or an apple ball. She didn't even know what toys were when she was rescued, poor thing. But now she is spoiled rotten, and might as well be an honorary cat.

She is about 4 1/2 years old.