Yes, I'm a Crazy Cat Lady. I've been accepted into that exclusive group, even though I only have 4 cats, because the Membership Committee says it's not how many cats you have but how many per square foot. I live in an RV with 4 cats.
This pic is 5 yearsold and the cats, but it captures the mood.
My current roommates: Diatima, Nicholas, Abigail and Quentin
What makes me unusual among Crazy Cat Ladies is that I didn't used to like cats. In fact, I was afraid of them, until, in my early 20's I visited a friend who had a kitten. The kitten slept with me and my friend told me I was a Cat Person. I laughed, explaining I'd never had a cat in my life.
But, in 1985, I rented a house with a roommate who said a house needed a cat, and we happened to have a friend with a kitten who needed a home. We got Willie, I fell in love, kept the cat but got rid of the roommate (good choice.) But Willie seemed lonely without my roommate to keep him company, so I went to the local animal shelter to get him a friend. I didn't really think any other cat could be as wonderful as Willie. But, golly, she was great, too!
I started volunteering at the shelter where I'd gotten her, and I've been volunteering with animal rescue groups all over the place ever since.
At that first volunteer job, I learned about the tragedy of Kitten Season, the terrible pet overpopulation problem, and the importance of spay/neuter. I moved to Eugene because I wanted to help WAG get started. WAG is doing such wonderful work here in Eugene and I'm proud to be a part of it.
I also started my career as a kitten nanny at that first volunteer job with the Los Angeles SPCA. One day I went to talk to their Volunteer Coordinator, and she was bottle-feeding a kitten. But she was going out of town that weekend and didn't have anyone to take care of him while she was gone. That was Butterscotch. I've since bottle-raised over 100 kittens including 2 I still have because I got "stuck" with them when I had difficulty finding them homes because there are so many needing homes.
