Catcreek Gardens

Cat Creek Gardens

The Guardians

Hoshi came to us as a rescue; she was slated to go to the shelter, and would have been destroyed in 3 days, which is all the time the local shelter can give them, because of the huge amount of cats dumped there every day. I named her Hoshi, which is Japanese for ‘star’, because she looks like a Japanese Chin.

Kwaanza is a domestic shorthair who was the product of an un-spayed mother running the neighborhood. He was given to a family across the street, who abused him until they moved, leaving him to fend for himself. He came to us when he was about a year and a half old, during Kwanza, hence the name. He is a very handsome tom, (despite the droopy ear he received from a fight.) and likes to make sure everyone knows it.

Kobe is one of Kwaanza’s sisters from a later litter, left on the doorstep by their mother, who’d figured out by this time that we’d take care of her kittens if she left them with us. She is a petite shorthair, definitely a feminine version of her brother Kwaanza. She’s very personable and chirps happily when she sees any of the humans who the cats allow to live on ‘their’ farm. She’s named after the Iron Chef Masahiko Kobe.

Io is Kobe’s littermate, and is a black Angora, very tiny and beautiful to boot. Her nickname is ‘The Empress’, and she certainly lives up to it. Like her brother Kwaanza, she hates other cats, including her siblings, and will hiss if they come too close. (“Give me your adoration or I will make you rue it by hissing at you again!”) Io tends to puff herself up and pose when her name is called, and gaze serenely about to make sure everyone is looking at her.

Mac and Tosh are a sibling pair of orange tabby shorthairs. They came to us as tiny kittens, rescued from a greasy man selling them for $5 each on the side of the highway in the middle of August. They were terrified and dehydrated, but soon bounced back. Tosh never stops talking, even in her sleep, and poor Mac can’t get a word in edgewise. Mac’s nickname is MacDaddy, because he grew and grew to a huge 22 pound tom, the “mac daddy “of the group. Although he’s huge (and all muscle) he’s got a sweet disposition and a tiny squeaky voice. They are named after the gophers from Looney Toons.

T'Pol is Hoshi’s sister, also rescued from a certain death at the shelter. She earned her nickname ‘Football Kitty’ because she resembles a football. She is very sweet, and prefers to spend her time lying around the gardens, hoping a bug or bird will fly by close enough for her to snag it without getting up.

Simon belonged to our previous housemate but she was unable to take him when she moved to CAlifornia. Simon was a tiny kitten when he raced across the 183 highway in rush hour traffic (barely missing becoming kitten road pizza) to jump into his mommy’s arms. He’s now a beautiful long haired tom; we’re not sure what breed, probably a Birman or Maine Coon mix. His marking are similar to a Siamese, but his hair is long and a bit harsh to the touch. He’s a handsome tom, but not at all vain, preferring to laze about in the weeds, collecting burrs in his soft undercoat, probably so he’ll have to be brushed!

Keely is another abandoned kitty, she was a terrified 5 month old dumped by people down the street who moved and left her. She was living in the storm drain when she was found, starving, because she was too afraid to go out to search for food. Once she was brought in the house, she decided it was a good place, and will hang out on the back of the couch, doing her vulture impression she learned from her friend Crowley (now gone to the cat ancestors). When someone comes to the door, she flies into the kitchen to hide in the cabinet until they are gone. She does like to go outside to sun herself, but seldom goes much farther than the patio and the adjoining water garden.