Living Glass Art: rescued cats

Yup, that's what the kitties say when it starts getting chilly outside. The very first winter that we spent in this house, we used this fireplace--well, as a fireplace. Its beautiful to look at a roaring fire but it would just burn up the wood without ever really warming up the house. Granted, we do have a central unit, but after receiving the first bill for heat we had to find another way to stay warm. For the second winter, the husband rigged up this idea--connect a woodburning stove to the chimney via stovepipe. This set up is pretty ugly, really, but it does warm the house and the kitties think that its the best thing ever. The empty fireplace hole becomes prime sleeping territory.

Out of the 7 insiders, there are only 4 that are true fans of the heat. Biggum (above) just loves it and winters are the only time that he really lets it all hang out.

Another big time fan of the heat is my Bubba. He likes to stretch out and take up the entire space.

Little Weetie really enjoys spending time in here in the evening--after she's wore out from harrasing the other cats all day long.

20 year old Granma is pretty dignified in her heat gathering activities. She's much to proper to sprawl out like the other heathen cats.

I love my babies, all 8 of them. Here's most of them all together having a special treat. Honestly, I never though I would be the momma to so many critters, but we have plenty of room in our home for all of them and most importantly lots more room in our hearts. Here's a little peek at all of them.

Granma, a/k/a Granny, formerly known as Baby. Age: 19. Hometown: Port Charlotte, FL. Granma's the only furbaby that's not really a rescue. We got Granma from a little girl whose kitty cat had kittens. Granma's travelled with us when we moved from Florida to Colorado then to Michagan and finally Tennessee. Granny says that she's glad our travelling days are done. She's still going strong but getting a little strange in her behavior. I guess I would be too if I were her age.

The King, formerly known as Boy. Age: 11. Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI. Hubby brought home this stinky little kitten from an apartment complex that he used to work at. He'd been trying to capture this kitty for some time, without much luck. He'd see the kitty hanging around under a dumpster and finally cornered him one day at the bottom of a stairwall much against the kitty's will. This kitty was a total surprise. I came home one day and there he was, still in the cage with hubby's warning that he was wild. I gladly reached my hand in the cage, brought him out, cuddled him up and we've been best pals ever since. He's earned the name 'The King' since he rules all the other cats and will break up fights between them. Terrified of people, he'll hide in the basement until company leaves.

Bubba, formerly known as Hobbs, since he hobbles. Age: 9. Hometown: Summertown, TN. Bubba is my special rescue kitty. I found him on the side of a highway when he was about 6 weeks of age with a broken leg. The vet tried to save the leg, it didn't work. Bubba's back leg was removed at the hip. No problem for Bubba. He's very energetic when he's not napping and will get on anything and everything.

Biggum, formerly known as Mister. Age: unknown-adult rescue. Hometown: Columbia, TN. Biggum was hanging around across the street from the warehouse I used to work at, trying to get the attention of the workers out there on break. No one wanted anything to do with him. I called him over to my building. He was the friendliest cat ever. He hung around all day, I fed him since I kept cat food at work in case a stray would happen to come along and he even took a nap in the flower beds out front. Later in the afternoon, he went hunting in the field and brought back a mouse and ate it in front of me. That's it, I decided right then and there that he was coming home with me. At the end of the day I packed him up in a cardboard box, taped it up and brought him home. He's a real people lover and just adores it when we have company.

Angel~la, formerly known as Angel Face. Age: unknown-adult rescue. Hometown: Perry County, TN. Angel~la was found hanging around a bunch of logging trucks parked alongside the highway. I saw her, stopped to visit her and gave her something to eat. Since we already had 4 kitties the thought never crossed my mind to bring her home. Told hubby about her and the next day he went out to the spot, found her and brought her home. She's an excellent traveller. I used to bring her to work with me and she'd sleep on the front seat for the 45 minute trip one way. She loves the boy kitties and will snuggle with Bubba and Biggum. The King wants nothing to do with this little hussy.

Weetie, a/k/a Sweetie, Biscuit, Love Muffin, Sweet Girl. Age: unknown-adult rescue. Hometown: Perry County, TN. Weetie found our house out in the middle of nowhere when she was starving and quite ill. Hubby said he had seen her pass by the house a few times so he knew about her already. One day when he had just gotten out of the shower, she made her way across our front porch screaming the whole time. He described it as a death rattle. Good thing no neighbors could see our house way up on a hill because he tried following her through the woods to catch her in only his rubber boots and undies, leaving a trail of food for her to find. Later that night she made her way back to the front porch. We threw some food at her and while she was busy eating we grabbed her and put her in our shed until we could get her to the vet. The smallest of all of them, she was the hardest to introduce to the household. She came out of her cage like the Tasmanian devil and lashed out at all of them. Some of the others are still leery of her and will keep their distance. She's a sweetheart to the humans and she'll even get up from her nap to greet me when I come in from working out in the shop.

Maggie, a/k/a Big Maggie, Maggie Moo. Age: unknown-adult rescue. Hometown: Perry County, TN. Maggie Moo was another starving kitty find. We found her at a gravel pit on the banks of the Tennessee River, just skin and bones. Good thing we usually have food with us-we had just got back from a week long trip on our house boat and the cooler was full of good kitty treats. First, some ham for this black beauty then a big hunk of cheese. Once she bit onto the cheese we grabbed her and put her in the back of the truck and brought her home. She was the last kitty added and the easiest to introduce. Everyone liked Maggie right away.

Let's not forget about Suzie. Age:unknown-adult rescue. Hometown: Lewis County, TN. Hubby found Suzie one day near our house out in a field with 4 puppies. He brought them all home and when the puppies were old enough we found homes for all of them. Suzie is a sweet dog, a German Shepard mix of some kind. When Bubba came home from surgery they became quick friends and would spend the nights together snuggled up in the garage-this is before Bubba was introduced inside. Here she is with her special log dog house hubby built. She has the run of the backyard with lots of shade trees and plenty of room to roll around.

Well, that's all of the permanent members. Thanks so much for checking them out. I'm thankful that we've been able to help these special angels out-they've all been a blessing to us and hubby and I wouldn't know what to do without them.