Frito, now at a weight of over 23 pounds, entered his current home as a 10 oz. runt of the litter kitten.  Named by Nikki, the oldest human child in the house, he was adopted as her kindergarten graduation present.  He was chosen because he was the most antisocial kitten in the litter and it was believed that he stood a better chance of standing up to the top dog of the house, Bear.  It didn't take long before Frito and Bear were napping together and played together as best friends.  Frito would jump onto Bear's back and ride down our stairs every chance he had.  Although Frito nearly doubles Bear's weight now, the two still nap together whenever possible--although bareback riding has been discontinued for obvious reasons! 

Frito loves to fetch milk rings, take naps, and play dress up with his three favorite human children.  His size makes him intimidating to teenagers (and grandmothers), but he's all bluff and fluff.  As soon as someone manages to pick him up, he loses his intimidation factor. 

Well, Mom made the final song cuts from the individual lists and posted our group playlist here.  We all pitched in and picked a few songs that made us think of Sal E.  We think he'd approve.  Maybe.  The music here is a mix of the very different cats that we are.   If we can all live in one house, then our music can live on one playlist!

Gina was adopted as a kitten when the humans moved to a new house and room for one more litter box!  Frito tolerated her, but Bear the dog was a "one cat hound" and has never bonded with her.  She has been a Mommy's Cat from day one and still occasionally sleeps with her human "mommy".

Gina refuses cat treats of any sort and has the ability to jump to incredible (and often surprising) heights.  Gina hides out from the kids all day, but seeks each person out at bedtime to have a goodnight snuggle! 

The adoption of Lea, a stray, nearly three years ago, has never been accepted.  There is a fine line between playing and fighting where these two are concerned!  They coexist, but not always peacefully!

Lea was a homeless stray that showed up starving one spring.  Full of mites and fleas and so underweight that the vet thought she was about 4 months younger than she was.  She was taken in, spoiled and is now the picture of satisfied health!

She will still steal your ham sandwich and tuna cannot be left unattended, but she's a wonderful addition to the family!

Frito, the Gentle Giant, loves her.  Bear the dog tolerates her.  Gina, the Siamese mix still has issues adapting, but it's only been three years!  Give them time, they say! lol!

It is believed that Sal became homeless after his owner passed away.  Nobody really knew for sure.  He was a frequent wanderer in our neighborhood for a few weeks until he adopted us.  He was originally named Sally by our middle daughter (we thought he was a pregnant female and he was too "antisocial" to let us have a look!)  After his first trip to the vet--and witnessing multiple "territory disputes", we realized he was a tomcat, through and through--just neutered. 

He was an outdoor cat who was rather set in his ways and didn't care for the indoors at all.  Which suited Frito and the girls just fine because they were terrified of him.  Amazingly, he seemed to know that they were "his" cats and he was only aggressive toward Gina.  She was like a red flag to a bull for Sal.  Luckily, she was little and fast!  He didn't mind the other cats or even the dog.

After a few months, Sal became mommy's favorite lap cat.  He "helped" with gardening, and never missed an opportunity to have a stare down with visiting relatives or pizza delivery guy seeking entry through the front step!

He was terrified of the ceiling fans in the house and he would rarely climb anything.  He would jump at a tree, hit about 1/2 way up, dig in with his claws and just hang there.  We called it "tree sticking", but he never went up any higher and would jump down.  Usually, he would "tree stick" to a tree with someone standing by it.  Nothing like seeing a 16 pound cat, 20 razor claws out, jumping at your head--only to realize he was aiming for the tree. 

A catfight and one of his regular three day disappearances in 2007 resulted in a yucky infection and surgery to drain a cyst on his forehead.  He wasn't expected to recover--but, Sal E. was a pretty tough kitty (and Mommy and the oldest human daughter were pretty persistent with cleaning his wounds and administering antibiotics).  He was battling crystals in his urinary tract (and his chosen diet of chipmunks and birds were not helping his treatment!)  He began losing weight in January, which the vet attributed to poor winter chipmunk hunting--and the fact that the cat was "depressed" about being cooped up inside more. 

Sal made his last disappearing act at the end of February.  He didn't return and our neighborhood search did not give us the desired results.  Salzi had used the last of his nine lives.  He had had no signs of any major illness, so it was believed that he may well have been simply significantly older than was expected. Kitty Heaven has one more angel.

He was Mommy's cat and Mommy really missed his help in the garden this week.