The Cats of Lake Big Fish
Oliver
Casper
Frankie

Oliver

Oliver is the baby of the Lake Big Fish cat pack. Born in July 1999, Oliver used to be a gray tuxedo kitten with needle sharp claws, tiny teeth and the appetite of a lion. He is now a 16 pound, gray tuxedo bubba cat with razor sharp claws, fangs and the appetite of a polar bear. If Oliver were a human, he would drive a Ford F-150 with a gun rack and amble around drawling such memorable phrases as "The beer is in the pickup truck." (You have to say that with just the right amount of East Texas drawl, swallowing most of each word and extending the vowels. Otherwise it just sounds stupid.)

Oliver is a Ren Cat. That means he will wear chain mail, usually just long enough to take a picture, and plays with other Ren Faire accessories. Like feather fans and fox tails. He can destroy a feather fan in under 5 minutes. And he likes to pull the fur from fox tails ... he must think they are a substitute for newspaper. He really, really likes to shred newspaper. In fact, Oliver likes to shred newspapers, paper bags, phone books, magazines ... no piece of paper is safe from Oliver. He tears paper into strips, and then pulls tiny pieces from the strips. You can always tell when Oliver has been bored ... there are piles of confetti where stacks of newspaper used to be. His name should have been Shredder!

Oliver has way too much energy and curiosity. If he's not tearing through the house chasing one of the other cats (or Murphy the Water Dog) he is skulking about, looking for someone to pounce on or something new to investigate. One of his most memorable escapades was his flying attack on the bird cage. Oliver launched himself from the fireplace (which gave him an almost 8 inch advantage over the floor) straight up and caught the birdcage hanging from a hook in the vaulted ceiling. However, he only managed to get his front claws hooked in the wire. His back paws were swinging free. While Oliver tried to get his back feet up to grab the cage, George (the male finch whose cage Oliver had attacked) decided that the best defense was a good offense. He started pecking at Oliver's paws! A one ounce bird took on a 16 pound cat ... and won! Oliver dropped to ground with a mighty THUD and sat there licking his poor, mistreated paws. And did I, the Great Photographer, get this on film? Of course not. I was sitting there with my mouth hanging open. After this adventure, Oliver earned a new nickname: Oliver Wendal "Rambo" Cat.

Ollie Pix

Tiny Oliver	Potted Oliver	Such a Tired Little Oliver!	Chain Mail is so Heavy!
A Different Kind of Cat	Should I or shouldn't I?	Look at how much Ollie has grown!	Oliver exploring the pond

Casper

Casper is a love cat. He loves to cuddle and if you don't cuddle when he wants to cuddle, Casper will put his head down and ram you like a bulldozer until you give him the attention he craves. If suitable body parts are not available for ramming, Casper will MEOW at the top of his voice, bobbing his head as he speaks. Subtlety is not in Casper's vocabulary.

One look at Casper and you can see his Oriental heritage. He is part Siamese with seal points (sort of) and the pale blue eyes typical of the breed. Casper is also slightly cross-eyed. And since his eyes don't have a lot of pigment, the least bit of light reflects vividly off the back of the cornea. Yep, Casper's eyes glow red without any help from a camera flash.

Casper is a month older than Oliver, which makes him the perfect playmate. The two of them chase each other through the house, pounce on each other and engage in mock battles all without a single meow. Casper definately has the upper paw when it comes to pouncing. He has been observed literally bouncing through the house like a rubber ball. He favors the 3 foot square leap. That's 3 feet straight up into the air and then 3 feet out to his target.

Casper Caught on Film

Cross-Eyed Daemon Cat

Under the Chair

Paper bags are SOOO much fun!

Comfortable

Frankie

Frankie is a long-haired, seal point Siamese with the most beautiful bright blue eyes. Unlike Casper, Frankie doesn't talk a lot. In fact, she very rarely says anything at all. Frankie is very, very, shy. She will interact with the other cats, but she prefers that people be kept at a distance. Currently the "Frankie comfort zone" is about 10 feet. I suspect that this is the result of abuse.

Frankie is a rescue cat. She was abandoned (or ran away) and took up residence in the shrubs in front of my house. She was so pitiful and thin, all you could see were those big blue eyes. Of course I started feeding her. When I decided to rip out the shrubs and re-landscape, it was also time for Frankie to become an official member of the cat pack. I borrowed a live trap from the barn, baited it with her favorite food, and caught her the first day. After a trip to the vet for a health check and shots, Frankie took up residence in Oliver's old kitten kennel. Oliver was not too thrilled with this; he is very jealous of that kennel and doesn't want to share it with any other cat.

Frankie eventually moved out of the kennel. She seems quite content to be a house cat. Frankie spends her days siting in one of the windows, watching the birds, squirrels and rabbits at the feeders. If nothing interesting is happening outside, Frankie will stretch out in the sun, or curl up in a pile of stuffed animals and indulge in that favaorite pasttime of all cats ... sleeping.

Frankie Faces

Can you find Frankie?

Christmas Cats

Cats love Christmas! Hiding under the tree, unwrapping packages, and ... the ultimate kitty experience ... playing in a cardboard box filled with wrapping paper and catnip!

Christmas trees are
for sleeping under

Which one is mine?

Play time!

A Message from the Cats of Lake Big Fish

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Cats are natural hunters, but we don't need to hunt to be happy. We can watch birds from the safety of a window, and chase down dust bunnies under the bed. Given food, water, love and a comfortable place to sleep, any cat can be happy indoors. The cats of Lake Big Fish are only allowed outside when a human-type person is around to supervise the event. We can play outside in our fenced-in yard, and we even have a kitty run. However, as much any cat (or human being) might disagree, domestic cats should not be allowed to roam freely. There are just too many things out there, like cars and coyotes, waiting to snuff out all of kitty's nine lives. Not to mention diseases like feline leukemia and rabies (as much as we dislike going to the vet, it is important to be vacinated even if you are a house cat). The cats of Lake Big Fish say ... keep your kitty vacinated and indoors where it's safe and we'll all be happy!