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!

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. 

I wandered around this neighborhood for a few weeks, until I heard that Frito's family had a job opening for outside caretaker kitty.  I stopped by a couple of weeks ago to get the interview process rolling--and immediately caught sight of a gopher critter that I dutifully chased into its hole. Well, a lady and a bunch of human kids showed up, and there I was, with my fluffy tail sticking out of this gopher hole!  It was so embarrassing that I ran off without even mentioning the job!

Surprisingly, the lady put out some food and water.  For me?  I wondered.  I would eat a little and run every time I saw the humans.  One day I caught a glimpse of the inside cats.  I had heard stories that Frito once chased a Jack Russell down the street, but I had never seen him.  They must feed those cats at least twice a day!  I started showing up a little more often, but wouldn't let anyone get close to me. 

Then it happend.  The wildest windstorm in Ohio that this cat has ever seen!  It was so scary!  Trees were falling, power was going on and off, there was this misty rain.  The lady and the one they call "Dad" were outside trying to get one of their downed trees out of the street and the garage door happened to be open.  I didn't think anyone would notice if I slipped in there to wait out the storm.

Dad noticed.  At first I thought he was going to make me leave.  I thought I should run away, but, the lady came in and sat down right beside me and held out her hand to pet me.  She said, "This is the cat I've been telling you about.  Look how pretty she is!" 

The lady thought I was pretty!  I am missing some fur, it looks like I've lost the tip of my tail somehow, I'm pretty thin, my hair wasn't even brushed--and she thought I was beautiful!

I let her pet me.  I even let the oldest kid pet me that night.  The inside cats stood and looked at me through the glass door.  Frito hissed, a lot.  Lea growled.  Gina just looked at me with a scowl and turned and walked away.  I stayed there until they closed the garage door, and I got scared and ran off.

I won't sleep in their garage yet.  That door is the scariest thing I've ever heard!  I am waiting for them every morning when they wake up though.  The lady thinks I've been a housecat and is trying to find my owners.  She says I'm too good with kids, my long fur is too kept, and I'm not very good at catching outside critters.  No one claims me though.  This neighborhood always gets a lot of strays.  People move in and out of some rental units across the "big road" and the left behind kitties find their way over here to this neighborhood. 

I like it here.  I think I may stay.  Being Frito's girl does seem to have its advantages!