Jack was a kitten when my ex-wife and I adopted him. He got his name because he liked to climb onto my shoulder, like a pirate's monkey, so we named him after Captain Barbossa's monkey in Pirates of the Caribbean. He is the only one of our pride of house lions whose birthday I know, so every March 25th, we celebrate all of the kitties getting a year older. He is one of the best companion cats I've ever seen, and he automatically loves everybody.
I got Diane to keep Jack company after my ex-wife and I divorced. She kept Jack's first companion, a calico named Roxy. Diane came from the Carteret County Humane Society, in Newport, North Carolina. They were calling her Whitney, which I didn't feel was any name to call a cat. I needed something that would go well with Jack, and one of my friends suggested Jill. Not having any toddlers in my house, I wanted something a little more grown-up sounding. So, she got named after the Mellencamp song. She wasn't the most social cat for the first few years I had her, but she took to my wife like they were old friends when we started dating. Diane will always remind me when it's time to feed the kitties. She treats it like her job, sitting by the bowls and meowing at me every time I walk by.
My wife and I found Abby in a cornfield beside her mother's house in the summer of 2012. She was just a tiny kitten, too young to be away from her mother, but somebody had thrown her out because she had a gunky eye and a respiratory infection. We spent a small fortune at the vet, getting her well, and she has grown into the beautiful cat in the photo above. She has imprinted herself on me, and doesn't like anybody else to pet her. She even hisses at my wife. She's my secondary alarm clock, coming into the bedroom every morning and lying down on my chest to wake me up for cuddles. Abby is also the spitting image of my Dad's cat, Cassie, who was by his side for 14 years. Cassie hated any woman who tried to come into my Dad's life, just like Abby does with me.
Bug came from a trailer park about 40 miles away. The lady who had her said she also had snakes in the trailer, and didn't want anything bad to happen to the kitten. For the first three days, we called her 'Little Kitty', which we just shortened to Lily. As she grew up, she started burrowing into the covers on the bed, earning the nickname 'Cuddle Bug.' She did it so much that we eventually just started calling her Bug. She is the most talkative cat in our family.
We found this cat living outside, and brought him inside when we realized he was neutered and declawed. Since he had survived so long without having any claws to defend himself, we named him MacGyver. He loves to give kisses and sleep on the body pillow on the bed. We call him and Jack brothers, and they actually look like they could be.
Cleaning litter boxes for five cats gets to be a chore, and they go through a lot of food, but we love our kitties and there's nothing we wouldn't do for them. They have such dynamic personalities, not to mention that little thing they do where they run through the house as fast as they can. There is also the occasional wrestling match, and their cardboard box antics to watch.
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