These are just a few pictures of our family. Some older images of Rigel and Martin are also available. All of our cats have tremendous and very different personalities.

Rigel Pictures

Rigel is the boss of the house. I adopted him in 2000 after my first cat, Sasha, died after being spayed. She never woke up and it turns out she had a heart defect. I adopted Rigel in Indiana the following weekend. He was the sole cat in my apartment for over 2 years. He still thinks he owns the house and that the other cats are intruding on his territory. He gets along best with Clever and usually spends more time with me than my wife. He has a classic beauty and is very muscular, weighing in at about 14 lbs.

Martin Pictures

Martin (2001? - 26 Nov 2010) was our cuddliest cat. We adopted him from the Champaign County Humane Society based on a recommendation from the volunteers. He was extremely personable and for some reason had been there for 8 months without being adopted. He grew into a beautiful long haired black cat with very long black whiskers. He loved to nuzzle you, fall asleep in your arms, and be picked up. He was the most trusting cat I've ever seen and acted like a ragdoll in your arms. He also liked to jump and get into high places. He was very thin and shed seasonally. In the winter he had a thick coat of fur that makes him look like he has a mane. His long winter coat earned him the nickname "Poofy" which we often called him instead of Martin. We'll miss him dearly. Our hearts break just looking at these pictures.

Clever Pictures

Clever is very loving. We adopted her and Sabel from the Champaign County Humane Society at the same time. Since Martin was such a gift, we thought we would give back by adopting two more. She was very thin when we first adopted her, but now she's built like a stout little bulldog with short legs. We didn't know it at the time, but she had a congenital knee problem in her rear legs that made her kneecap slide out of its groove. We had surgery done to correct this as much as possible and its made all the difference. She went from a very lazy, unsocial cat to a very loving and needy cat that always wants attention and loves to play. She's just now learning that she can jump up without feeling pain. The surgery made such a difference.

Sabel Pictures

Sabel is very skiddish. As mentioned before, we adopted her at the same time as Clever. She is very shy and nervous and likes to stay just barely within arms reach. She is very comfortable with us if we are sitting in our computer chairs as she feels we're confined and can't get her. If we are in bed, she'll often jump up and want petted, but once again, our arms appear to be restrained by the blankets and so she feels safe. She loves her face rubbed and can be quite demanding if you don't give her her "face rubbins" when sitting in my computer chair. She often makes an odd chirpy/scrawk sound when she wants petted. When she wants tuna, she has a very petite and heartbreaking meow.