The Feline Fellowship

Diputacion de Grandes y Titulos del Reina - The Feline Fellowship



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Playmates forever!

The arrival of Jack and Phoebe at Gloria and Patricia's doorstep as tiny kittens is something of a strange story.

When they lived in Dallas, a gentleman who had a home down the street from them passed away. When his relatives opened the house they found some 62 cats and a dog living inside. Some of the animals escaped before Animal Control could get out to the house to pick them up. Among the animals who escaped was the kittens' mother.

A few days later, as Gloria returned from an outing, she saw the mother cat dart away from behind the potted plants near the front door. Upon investigation she found two tiny kittens, eyes open but just barely toddling, hiding behind the pots. When the mother mother cat did not return for the kittens, they took them in. Both kittens fit comfortably into one of Gloria's hands as she carried them inside and made a nest-box for them in the spare room.

They were named Jack (orange and white) and Phoebe (gray and white), and they now had a new home. They quickly outgrew their box, but Patricia worked away from home and Gloria was a full time student. They couldn't run loose in the house when there was no one at home - Lady, Patricia's wonderful, aged Siberian Husky, was an inveterate cat killer (think Sopwith Camel, with a cat tally on her forehead!). Jack and Phoebe needed social contact and a safe place to grow up in.

Phoebe, delicate and sweet

Jack and Phoebe comfort Gloria on one of her bad days

     Gloria, being a psychology major, immediately thought of a Skinner box for the kittens. So they bought a ferret cage, set it up with different levels and lots of toys (which got changed around frequently) and moved it into their living room. Jack and Phoebe were transferred from their cardboard box to this huge cat palace.

     For kittens, it was the best of all possible worlds. They could stay in their cage during the night and when the humans were not at home to watch over them - and they could be outside of the cage to play all over the house when the dogs were in the backyard in the evenings and on weekends. They never got into any trouble because they were gently re-directed (not yelled at or spanked). They grew up playing with toys (and devising their own out of anything handy) as well as strong and healthy from so much play, both in and out of their cage. After moving to Ponca City (and the death of Lady shortly aftward), Jack and Phoebe came out of the cage for good.

     To this day, Jack and Phoebe are athletic and agile, make up endless games and thunder up and down the stairs with willful abandon. They are also very gentle and extremely affectionate. Jack always asks politely by patting one's knee before he jumps up into a waiting lap. Phoebe slips up for a petting, soft as a falling feather. They seem to know when Gloria is having a bad day and quickly come to sit and snuggle with her.

"Jack Armstrong, All-American Cat"

Major and His Boy

When Gloria's sister and her boys moved into Gloria's dad's house, they were unable to take their cats with them. Gloria offered to take two of them and the other two were adopted from the Humane Society within 45 minutes of their arrival. Unfortunately, one of the two Gloria and Patricia had adopted seems to have escaped from the house somehow. Major, on the other hand, settled right in as though he had belonged there all along. He is fascinated by Querida, sitting or lying by her cage to watch her for hours. When she is outside in her pen, Major sits in the nearest window and watches her play. Major is around 9 years old and used to be an inside/outside cat. He has adapted well to being an indoor cat. Still, he loves it when his former people visit. Here he is with his head resting on Tyler's knee on a recent visit.

"Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen."
- John Steinbeck