Jared's Cats

Most Importantly, My Cats. I have owned cats since I was born. I've always loved cats and find that I prefer pets that choose to like a person. This page is devoted to the cats I share my life with. I am particularly fond of the Siamese and Balinese breeds. The links section at the bottom has good information references.

The darker cat (Seth born January 1st, 2000) is a Classic Siamese (not to be confused with the traditional apple headed variant). The rumor has it that they were once used as guard cats. He was rescued from a shelter in Pennsylvania after his breeder suffered a heart attack. His original name was Bully because he used to attack anything near him but with just a bit of affection he came around (although he never could stand being picked up). I find this plausible as the teeth and nails on Siamese are much sharper, longer, and harder than those of any other cat I have come across. The breed is vocal and amazingly loyal and affectionate, almost to the point of being dog like. Go to http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/siamese.html for more information.

The white one (Blue born June 20th, 2002) is a Balinese. She is in every way the equivalent in temperament as a Siamese except that due to some recessive genetics or strange crossbreeding this breed is long haired and therefore somewhat cuter. Go to http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/balinese.htmlfor more information. This breed is very rare and expensive. We drove from Jenknitown, PA to Long Island, New York to pick her up and when she first came to us she was the size of a glasses case.

Anyone that thinks cats are aloof should try one of these breeds. They are loyal and friendly to the point of obnoxiousness, Seth will actually pound at the door with his paw if he is locked out of the room you are in. Blue fetches and they both come when called.

This cat is Echo (born April 1st, 2001) and she is a Maine Coon. She tops the scales at around 22 lbs and is only two years old with another year or two of growing. This breed is much more cat like and tends to be very friendly but not as relentlessly as the above two. Echo tends to chirp allot. Go to http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/maine.html for more information.

Last Sunday Jen and I noticed Seth was acting strangely. He was more lethargic and eating less than usual. We called our cat vet (a home-call vet, Dr. Imiger) who came out first thing in the morning to do blood work on him. The next day we received a call saying Seth was dying of Kidney failure. We took him to an emergency hospital to be put on IV fluids and left him overnight. Due to the huge bill we moved him the next day to West Ridge Animal Hospital in Greeley, CO where are Macaws' veterinarian, Dr. Combs worked. We spent about 8 hours driving as it was during the 'Blizzard of 2006' but needed to get Seth there so we could afford to have him treated for as long as he needed it. I'm also naturally distrustful of a lot of people in the medical field and trust Dr. Combs so I wanted him there.

Over the next few days we waited and watched Seth's blood work improve a small amount. It became clear (from an ultrasound) that he was not suffering from Chronic Renal Failure (go here for information) and was more likely to be suffering from Acute Renal Failure. We waited and hoped that he would pull through. Over the week Dr. Combs and other vets would call us twice a day to give us a update on Seth's condition and we visited him twice to try to make him feel better (Greeley is 60 miles from our home). We were to visit him Tuesday the 26th and try to get him to eat for us but things went bad that morning. Dr. Combs called us and said Seth's blood pressure and temperature were dangerously low and it was looking bad. We jumped in the truck and headed to him where we found our little buddy in an incubator with more tubes and gauges on him than I had ever seen. They tried special drugs and a breathing tube but he went into convulsions and his heart stopped around 11:30 in the morning. Dr. Combs and the rest of the staff at West Ridge did the best they could and I wouldn't have wanted anyone else trying to save him. When Seth died he was just shy of seven years old.

Seth died today with us petting him but I'm not sure if his brain was functioning by the time we arrived. We had been so hopeful that he would pull through and the last thing I ever wanted was to have him die in the hospital.

My new Seal Point kitten arrived on Delta today, May 17th, 2007. This guy was born at Gotier Cattery on February 3, 2007. Right now he is hiding in the bathroom with food and water but we've already begun the process of getting him used to the birds. As you can see Ariel remains a sweetheart and was the first of our guys to welcome him.

We've decided to name the cat Vesper which is the Roman name for Hesperos or 'The Evening Star'. It is also a synonym for twilight. It seems fitting for a white and black cat. Vesper was pretty cowardly but we've spent a lot of time socializing him and he is coming out of his shell nicely. I expect him to be your average, crazy Siamese cat when he is full grown.

Breed List-- This site has links to everything, breed info, breeder locations, health info, etc.

Chronic Renal Failure -- What to do if your cat is diagnosed with kidney failure, great site

Keep Your Cats Inside -- It will keep them alive longer and save the lives of songbirds, There is no indoor versus outdoor debate, only owners who choose to kill their pets and other animals versus those who don't. This site chronicles the multitude of birds kileld by outdoor 'pet' cats and the reasons to keep your cats indside.