“If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.”
―Mark Twain, Notebook, 1894

For over 30 years my wife and I have always had at least one cat in our home. Each has been memorable in its own furry way. Today, we have four cats that are part of the same litter. We “took in” their mother nine years ago not realizing that she had just given birth. We fed her, but did not let her into the house since we already had three elderly cats. Within days, Serendipity cautiously brought each of her newborns down our driveway one at a time until she’d put them all safely in an empty clay fire pot on our front porch.

Several days later, a javelina wandered onto our porch and attacked Serendipity. The kittens scattered in terror. Following the melee, we were only able to account for Serendipity and two of her kittens. About the time we’d given up hope of ever finding the missing two, we found them huddled together behind some storage boxes in our garage, frightened but alive.

Oh, and Serendipity survived, but only after a trip to the emergency vet to repair a severe gash in her stomach. To ease Serendipity’s recovery, we decided to take her and her kittens inside. Despite nearly a year of trying to adopt out the kittens, no one took them. They were bordering on feral and very, very afraid of everything. We finally were able to find a home for Serendipity, and her new owner sometimes brings her back to us to “cat-sit” while she and her husband are out of town.

Our older cats, ultimately counted to ten in their quota of nine lives, and today, the “kittens” remain with us after nine years. Below are some photographs of our cats and various other cats my wife and I have encountered on our travels. Click on any of the photos to enlarge them and start a slide show.

“How you behave toward cats here below determines your status in Heaven.”
― Robert Heinlein, To Sail Beyond the Sunset, 1987