DamnYnke has several permanent pets that share our lives. These cats are not available for adoption, they are our special companions.
(CLICK ON NAME TO VIEW PEDIGREE)
"Maggie" is a flirty, silly Silver tabby with White female, born June 14, 2005. She is a CFA Champion. Maggie can generally be found lounging with her front paws crossed, or one leg hanging precariously off of whatever she's perched on. She's a perpetual kitten and a real joy. She does *not* have the voice of an angel and sounds like a hoarse Siamese. Maggie comes to us from Mainette Maine Coons . Maggie was part of our breeding program but had some complications of her reproductive tract and is now a spayed pet. She's got Mark firmly under her paw.
Photo credit: Chanan. Not to be copied or reproduced without express permission.
This precious photo was snapped by Richard Katris (Chanan) when Skyy was about 11 months old. It captures his kitten-like curiosity and gentle nature. This particular pose is known as "The Gopher" among Maine Coon breeders.
The photo above was taken January 25, 2010. Skyy will be 9 in April. He still looks great and acts like a kitten!
"Tarbaby"
Tarbaby came out of the briar patch as a thin stray in Traci's former backyard some years ago. She was so nervous of people that it was not clear whether she was male or female for quite some time. She was caught in a live-trap, spayed and vaccinated, her ear tipped (which is done when feral cats are altered so that they are not inadvertently trapped for surgery again), and returned to the only home she knew. She eventually became more trusting and was brought inside when Hurricane Isabel came through Richmond. After repeated medical testing, she was exposed to the other cats.
It is truly a miracle to watch her now - totally integrated with the other cats, perfect litterbox and scratching post behavior, and a decidedly loving lap cat whose only quirk is that she's just certain we are trying to kill her when we trim her nails. I think that Tarbaby had been around humans before coming to us - my understanding is that a cat who was born feral would never have adapted this way.
Did you know that "tarbaby" is a slang term for taking responsibility for something that is not yours? I didn't either, but what a fitting name.
"Froggy"
is a beautiful silver tabby/white neutered male. He was born January 23rd to Mainette RosemaryCooney of Damnynke and CH Just Cat NN's Acey Mac of Makanacoon. He's a real cutie pie who is has been a "cat's cat" in this environment, bugging the heck out of Earl most days. He was 12 pounds at 7 months and very much still growing. He is quite a persistent food hound with a beautiful head, expression, extremely low maintenance coat and picture perfect pattern. Froggie is a nearly constant companion to me as I works on the computer. One day he'll catch that curser on the screen! Froggie is the companion cat in our stud room, and keeps Earl company.
@ 10 weeks
Froggie @ 6 months hanging out with Earl in the boy area.
Neither of these cats are confined to this large enclosure, they are there by choice.
Our boy area is a large, tiled room in a walk out basement with full spectrum lighting and sliding glass doors overlooking our beautiful garden, which is full of nature. The pen occupies a good part of the room, and Traci's home office occupies a corner as well.
We also have two beautiful Egyptian Maus. Both were bred by Melanie Morgan (Emau). Mir and Taphe are colorful and graceful additions to the household and I constantly marvel at how different the two breeds are from each other.
"Mir" has a classic tabby pattern, a throw back to another time. This pattern is not accepted for showing, which is a shame, because he is quite a ham.
Taphe @ age 10 - bronze Egyptian Mau Grand Premier. Taphe displays the proper spotted pattern.
In memory
Thunder is an elderly Devon Rex who lived in the bedroom with us, by her choice. She always reminded me of E.T. Devons are the teddy bears of the cat fancy - soft and huggable. Thunder lost her battle with intestinal cancer at age 17.
