stinky is the oldest of the kitties! he is a black cat with a silly little crooked nub tail. it looks a bit like pikachu's tail. he was originally named "cy," which was short for cyclops, because he had an eyelid that was injured and healed incorrectly, so he had a very crusty eye that he could not use for most of his life. he has since gotten surgery on his eyelid, and is thankfully able to see out of both eyes now! i named him stinky, because he has very stinky breath, and he's a little stinker (he's quite mischevous). soon after naming him, i found out that the reason he's smelly is because he has "Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex". basically, he's allergic to a lot of things, and is very itchy all of the time. his skin swells up, which can cause sores in his ears or mouth (the cause of the smell), and also on his neck or face. he is going to get an allergy test to find the cause of this itchiness, and hopefully we will be able to finally give him a treatment that will help! :'-) i got him when he was 2ish years old, since i wanted a buddy for bestie, who was an only cat at the time. he was taken in by my friend's coworker, who worked at a pet store. his first owner said she was getting rid of some kittens, and it became apparent that he and his siblings were being neglected. he was kept in a closet for the first part of his life, and his eye injury is speculated to be from cutting his eyelid on a wet food can and never receiving treatment. as a result, he is very scared of strangers, and takes awhile to build trust with new people. he is very high energy, and loves to attack the other cats while they're sleeping to get them to play. he's very affectionate, and loves his sisters. he is known to eat plastic and steal human food (naughty!).
bestie is the first cat i owned as an adult in oregon. she's a tabby with white socks and a white/orange tuxedo belly and chest. the first time i met her was on august 30th, 2021. she had been living in the bushes of my best friend's place, and had the most pitiful little meow. we are unsure how long she was a stray -- i do know she must've had a previous owner, because she was spayed. she was quite skinny, so we gave her a lot of wet food and snuggles, and after a couple of days, i brought her home with me. we posted pictures of her on our local cat rescue group, gave a description of her to the shelter, and checked her for a microchip (none), but nobody came for her. she is the sweetest and most loyal kitty i have ever met in my life! she doesn't like being held, but she follows me around the house like a shadow, and is always ready to cuddle in bed. she sleeps on my pelvis every night; stinky sleeps between my shins. when she wants you to pet her, she does this thing where she reaches out and pokes you on the nose, then mimics a petting motion with her paw. she's shy, and it takes a while before she is able to warm up to strangers. but when she does, she is soooo cute!! she and stinky are bffs and snuggle and groom each other constantly (when they're not fighting, lol).
beanie baby is technically a calico because she has a couple of little white spots, but let's be real... she's a dilute torti B-) she and her sister itty bitty were foster fails! beanie is a very affectionate cat, and is not afraid of strangers at all. she and itty bitty greet people at the door and love to play with them and ask for snuggles. she's a little stinker and loves to try to run out the door every time it opens. she was recently diagnosed with heart disease, which has caused her heart to be enlarged, and will affect her lifespan. thankfully, it has not yet impacted her quality of life. we are still coming to terms with this sad news, but we cherish every day that we get to spend with her :'-)
itty bitty is a tabby with spots and a bit of tortie markings. she, like her sister, is a social little sweeties who tries desperately to escape the house (presumably because she wants to chase squirrels). she loves playing with the feather toy, and getting head scratchies. when she meows she sticks her tongue out in a funny little way. she's bffs with bestie; they're always snuggling (my partner jokes that she was taken away from her mommy too soon, so bestie's her mom now). she's a little ragdoll and gets picked up all the time. she constantly tries to stick her head in crevices, like between the couch cushions, or in the crook of your arm when you're sitting down. it looks like she's trying to suckle (again, because she misses her mommy, lol). she and beanie are attached at the hip and are always cuddling.
lucy was originally my partner's cat, and i met her in 2022. she was a beautiful little calico who loved to smell and lick and rub up on toes and socks and shoes. she was a bit shy, but did enjoy some good pets after she got to know a person. she generally hated other cats and preferred to be an only child, but she did grow to have a fondness for beanie, who loved her deadly, and was always trying to snuggle with her. they often laid together with their backs touching, and beanie followed her around constantly. because of her solitary nature, she would lay in our bed most of the time, though she eventually became athletic enough to sit on the cat tree, and loved to sit and watch squirrels and birds. she was always very laid back, and wasn't the athletic type. her favorite toy was ponytail holders, and she would go crazy and get huge black eyes when she had one between her paws. she developed a thyroid problem, but was a champ at getting pilled twice a day. unfortunately, her condition affected her heart, and we didn't know until it was too late. we had to put her down unexpectedly, and her death was my first experience with losing a pet. when we got back from the vet's office, we watched the movie Flow together, and wowie that made me cry a lot!! we still feel her absence. i often wonder if beanie is still waiting for her to come back from the vet's office. lucy was a special lady, and i'm so glad that i got to be a part of her life. she had the most thunderous purrs, and absolutely loved cuddling in the morning. my partner named her after lucy liu from charlie's angels (lol). she had a weird little lump on the top of her skull, and i've never seen that in another cat. lucy, wherever you are (i am sure that you are watching over us everyday), your mommies miss you every day!!