When Dave lived at TLC we picked 2 kittens from a litter a closet nearby. He named the solid black one Ozzie, and I named the fuzzy little striped one Teddy because she looked like a teddy bear. We bottle fed them for a week or so and raised them to maturity. teddy came to live with me in my apartment. She was my little friend. TLC began to enforce the “no pets” rule and Dave wasn’t allowed to keep Ozzie, so he came to stay with me. Neither of us were aware how young cats could be when they went into heat. So in September of 2007 Teddy got pregnant and on December 13 she had a litter of 4. She was only 10 months old when she became a mama. The birth story hereAnd here

Well when the kittens got old enough, which they did pretty quickly, it was time to find them homes. One lady came and took 3 kittens and Teddy. I was sad to see Teddy go, but we wanted the other kittens to have a parent with them through transition. I decided to keep Ozzie and Isabelle, the little striped runt we called Little Teddy for a while. A couple months later the lady got in touch with me again and needed to give one of the kittens back due to cat issues in her home. His name was Biggs and Dave decided to keep him. By then Dave had moved into an apartment with an old friend from work.

So I now have Ozzie and Isabelle, 2 of the greatest cats I’ll ever know. You can also read about how Dave acquired Toki here

Ozzie is an awesome cat. He comes when he’s called and he’s very obedient. He’s the most well behaved. Alex (Dave’s brother) calls him godzilla cat because he has those big yellow, calm eyes. Ozzie broke his hip the day before Thanksgiving and you can read about it here He has a very distinct meow and when I come home from work, he loves to lay with me and purr as he massages my tummy.

Biggs is a big ball of fluff. He’s really quite huge. But he’s so calm and mellow. He prefers to just sleep in the corner of my closet with some soft blankets when he’s over on Fridays. He can be very affectionate, but on his terms. He’s kind of like an old man, grouchy when there’s too many young people around happiest when he’s sleeping. But he’s a total sweet heart and we love him to death.

Isabelle is a little nuts. She meows just to hear herself most of the time. She’s really paranoid. She chases invisible bugs. Her tail makes 2 perfect 90 degree angles, so she’s got a little coat hanger for a tail. She’s really sweet though. She loves her petting time and tuna chewies. I love how talkative she is, because I can say any random thing to her and she’ll be totally interested.

Last but not least, Toki. I wanted to name him Pickles, but since Dave was going to be the one caring for him, he chose Toki. He looked like a bug eyed bat when he was a kitten, and the first thing he did when I let him in my apartment for the first time was cuddle up with Ozzie. He’s an extremely friendly little guy, and he loves to chirp. He also comes when he’s called.

Dave has 2 and I have 2. We are a little stressed but so excited to make our family one in the future!