Snowball - April 1993

What can I say about the boy? He's to me as Gilligan is to the Skipper. He's my Little Buddy. I'm pretty sure that he was born in April of 1993. I rescued him along the banks of the American River one September night. He started following me. As I got ready to cross a busy street, I tried to scare him away. It didn't work. I knew he wouldn't make it across the street, so I picked him up to carry him across. *Poof*! Instantly, I had a new friend.

Elizabeth Borden - July 1993

I acquired Ms. Borden in December of 1993 from a co-worker that was moving. From day one, Ms. Borden became the top cat and remains so today. Lizzie is the matriarch of the household. We pretty much do what she wants. Lizzie is smart, charming, and rules the household ruthlessly. All hail Lizzie!

The best part is that her ears perk up whenever they play those Lizzie Borden specials on TLC/A&E/Discovery. She recognizes her name whenever they say, "Lizzie Borden."

Saffy - May 1996

Saffy! Saffy!

Saffy is the prettiest cat in the whole wide world! And also the most vocal. And the biggest. Saffy is Anneliese's kitty and joined my group during The Great Merger. She's a sweetheart and a pretty smart cookie, too. Ooo.. I want to rub her belly right now.

Pim Pim - July 1994 - September 30, 2007

I met Pim Pim at an animal shelter one summer. She was abandoned by her family after seven years. Quiet and reserved, all she wanted to do was sit on your lap and purr. Week after week, I played with her, but she never found a home. Being a little shy and her age made her a hard sell. When she stopped eating, I adopted her fully expecting that probably had to put her to sleep very soon. Luckily, a steroid shot by my vet got her eating again.

Since then, she's quickly used another 3 lives. She had a cancerous tumor removed from her, is undergoing chemo, had a near bout with thyroid disease, and is being managed for renal failure. Through it all, she's been a very brave and vibrant little girl .

9/2007 - Pim Pim finally succumbed to renal failure in September. We miss her dearly.

Tera-San - November 1999

Tera is a very small cat. She's ultra nervous and ultra sweet. Tera was born with a bad leg which her mom had to amputate when she was a kitten, so she walks funny. Still, she is most entertaining and an awesomest littlest cat ever.

Mathilda- April 2002

What a whiner kitty! Poor Mathilda is a very sensitive girl. Through various shifts and mergers, she has been everything from the baby of the household to top cat, down to near bottom again. No wonder she's so stressed out. My favorite thing to do is blow on her big, huge, orange tummy. Yep. She's a totally stressed out and worried cat.

Manfred- February 2004

My streak of near brain-surgeon cats was broken by Manfred. While very sweet and very fluffy, Manfred is not our brightest. His favorite activities are walking on top of doors, mindlessly repeating activities, and acting like pure eye-candy.

Avi - April 2001

African Greys are the smartest birds in the world, and Avi is no exception. She can imitate a chicken, dog, kitty, cockatiel, and raven. She also does this thing where she bends her head down to let you scratch her. When you get well within striking distance, she'll snap and bite off your finger. Human blood is very tasty to her. Awesome. Good bird.

Dolly - November 2000

Dolly is a crazy Lutino Cockatiel. Her favorite activities are screeching really loud and biting me when I try to feed her. She's egg bound right now.

Hoser - January 2005

Hoser was born in the U.C. Davis cockatiel research colony. Anneliese organized my adoption when he was just a wee tot. Being of Canadian heritage, Hoser can whistle the first several bars of the Canadian National Anthem. His favorite activities are messing with Dolly, scaring Avi to death, hockey, and ice fishing. True story: For the first week I had Hoser, I kept Strange Brew playing in front of him throughout the day.

Moose - ?

Adopted June 2007, Moose is a nervous little bird who was adopted from a bird rescue group. We kept the Canadian theme with him. He's a bit nervous about being petted, but loves the social interaction with people and the other 'tiels. He lives upstairs away from the other birds. His favorite activity is to squack real loud to Hoser and Dolly.

Woz - ?

Woz was adopted May 2007. He lived at some Chuck-E-Cheese-type place, and wasn't in very good shape. His tail was bitten and infected by another Bearded Dragon, and he was impacted. The restaurant decided to give him up, and Anneliese rescued him. His tail had to be amputated and we worked hard on getting his guts going again. Today, he's 100% cured, although we think he has a blind in his left eye.

Woz has given us a lot. He give me an excuse to start a mealworm farm. Lizzie loves to rub herself on Woz's thorns. He's like a living cat brush.