Gin & Juice

The first of the five felines were a pathetic pair. The human Jess's aunt often rescues kittens, raises them, and finds them new homes. Because the humans moved to their new apartment in Virginia, it was time for a new addition. They went to choose their kitten. Kitten, singular. They chose a solid black kitten. His huge black ears overpowered his head, the hairs between his eyes and ears were sparse. He had been dubbed the name Nigel. Much to Jess's suprise, the human Matt suggested that they choose another kitten to keep Nigel company. Orange Juice was a tiny orange tabby with features much like his brothers. They packed up the pair and headed home.

The boys settled into their new home very quickly. But Nigel didn't settle into his name. It just didn't fit. The humans pondered, and came up with the name Gin, which went nicely with Juice; what they called the orange feline.

There wasn't much to explore, only 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, and tiny kitchen...but the brothers sure got into a lot of trouble.

Their first plaything became the arms of the couch and chair in the living room. When the humans weren't home, they would scratch to their hearts content. Soon, the blue furniture was ripped to shreds.

At 5 months of age, it was time to be neutered. Jess didn't work at the vet clinic at this time, so she's not sure how their visit went. But they both survived their surgery, and came home the same night. Upon the vet's advice, they were placed in a bathroom with a litterbox and water. They were still hopped up on drugs from their procedures. The next morning, the bathroom was a wreck. The feisty felines had flipped their litterbox, tipped their water bowl, and mixed the two into a cement goo covering the bathroom floor. After walking through the mess, they proceeded to climb everything in sight. There were little pawprints covering nearly every surface in the bathroom, even the walls! The humans had a heck of a time cleaning that one up.

One day when the humans went to work, the pair struck again. They climbed on top of the refrigerator and used their little paws to pry open the freezer door. The tiny acrobats then made their way into the freezer, and begin pushing things onto the floor. One of these things included 2 trays of cherry kool-aid icecubes. Which landed upside down. On the tan linoleum floor. No wonder the humans didn't get their security deposit back....

The cats had a blast when Christmastime rolled around. The humans put up a miniature tree, decorated with small plastic bulbs and decorations…for about 10 minutes. The cats decided the ornaments looked much better on the floor. And under the couch. And in their food dish. And Juice decided he looked pretty good in the tree.

Gin and Juice continued their adventures in the apartment with the humans until they were 2 years old, and the family packed up and moved to the house on Hoofprint Drive.

Ninja Turtles

The first of the nine creatures came out of pity. Living in a sunny Myrtle Beach, South Carolina sounds like bliss, but not when you’re a captive Red-Eared Slider. Surrounded by over 50 of their closest relatives, the 2 tiny terrapins lived in a 10-gallon aquarium in a beach supply store. The human Jess couldn’t stand the sight, but the best she could do was to save the pair from their horrid living conditions. Most of the other turtles Jess knew were named after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. She went with that theme, but with a twist. The pair was named after two of the villains in the Ninja Turtles cast: Bebop, a human/warthog, and Rocksteady, a human/rhinoceros.

^ Baby Bebop ^

The duo traveled via small, plastic tank from their origin in South Carolina, to the then home of the human in Duncansville, PA. At this point, they were the size of silver dollars. They were outfitted with a 10-gallon glass aquarium (all to themselves!), filter, basking rock, and heat lamp.

^ Baby Rocksteady ^

A few years later, the humans moved to Winchester, VA. The turtles tagged along, remaining in their 70-gallon home. They continued to grow, Bebop faster than Rocksteady. It was apparent that Rocksteady was a male, and Bebop was a female. It was at this new location that Bebop tried to make her escape, perhaps because she was becoming territorial, and this tank was becoming too small for the two of them.

Bebop climbed up the basking ramp, pushed aside the screen on top, and made her way precariously onto one of the corners of the tank. She paused there for a break, balancing haphazardly on the thin edge. She was just about to continue her journey, when "Jess" returned home from work. The human gasped at the sight of the slider sitting outside of the tank, and cautiously made her way over, careful not to scare the balancing escape artist. It was nearly 3 feet to the ground from where the turtle sat, an injury was sure to happen if she were to fall!With one swift motion, Bebop was back in the tank, safe and sound.

These well-traveled turtles would soon move to their fourth home, and fourth state! Many humans never live in so many places. In their new home on Hoofprint Drive, they were moved from the 70-gallon tank to a huge pond! An indoor pond, lined with river rocks and live plants. Oh how they loved their new home! They devoured the plants in a matter of minutes, and discovered their new, larger basking site. It was so wonderful that Bebop decided that it was HERS! She began to snap at her roommate, chase him around the pond until there were deep, bleeding gashes in his shell. Rocksteady began spending all his time on the basking site, the only place he would not be attacked.

^ Bebop ^

The humans became concerned for his health, so they set up the 70-gallon aquarium once more. Rocksteady was moved to this location so he could live in peace.

The Red-Eared sliders cause the least trouble of the bunch, although the felines, especially Johnny Cakes, enjoy watching them and occasionally getting a little too close for comfort.

The Beginning

Johnny Cakes wasn't born a Johnny Cakes. He was born a Hammie. A Nelson. A Donald Trump, even. It wasn't until the fateful day when Johnny Cakes jumped into an open toilet, and sat there, looking at the human "Matt", daring him to flush, that Johnny Cakes became Johnny Cakes.

When he first came home, Johnny Cakes was a tiny bundle of flea-infested fur. His human "Jess" brought him home from the veterinary clinic where she worked. A man had found him under his porch, his mother having "abandoned" him, and brought him to the clinic hoping he'd find him a home. He did. That weak, push-over, sap of a human took the kitten, put him in a warm blanket, and quickly sped off to the local pet store to gather bottle feeding supplies.

She fed him every 4 hours for the next several weeks. Sleep was very important to her, but she rose at each screech of the alarm clock, mixed the formula, heated it to proper temperature in the microwave, and convinced the mewing little creature to start sucking. She even helped him when nature called, because thats what needed to be done.

The orange and white tabby's fate was to go to a new home when old enough, but he continued to tug on the heartstrings of the humans, and alas remains in the comfort of the house on Hoofprint Drive.