I’ve always been an animal guy, as a kid I grew up with cats, dogs, fish, gerbils, hamsters, rabbits and my younger brother even had a pet tarantula! (I wasn’t too fond of that though)
My mum had a black cat named Sarah since I was baby and later on we added Becky a golden retriever to our family too…
As an “adult” there were several other cats in my life before we rescued Cole and Marmalade, so I thought I’d write about the the “others” and share them with you…
Cali Cat
I first moved to America in May 2008 to work at BIG CAT RESCUE, I lived on site in a trailer and had a leopard for a neighbor! Big Cat Rescue is a sanctuary in Tampa for rescued big cats, it was founded in 1992 in a pretty rural area, but since then outlets had sprung up around it and a mall was opened half a mile away in 1999. BCR had always done their part to help small cats too and any feral cats that wandered onto their property were trapped and fixed and then cared for at the sanctuary or adopted out with volunteers.
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- The trailer
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- Cheetaro a rescued leopard
They even offer a FREE PASS for a tour at the sanctuary if you show them proof that you have spayed or neutered your cat/s in the past year! – “SPAY & PLAY” 🙂
Cali was one of those cats who lived on the property with a staff member and when she left, Cali came to live at my place and kept me company. I was working as the videographer and worked from the same trailer so we had plenty of time to hang out with each other and we quickly became friends. She was the first cat I had cared for since I was a kid, she slept on my bed at night, watched me edit big cat videos on the computer and was ALWAYS ready to snuggle at the end of the day!
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- “We’re watching Animal Planet!” 🙂
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- This was her fav toy, it’s actually a coaster made of sheep wool, Cole loves it too!
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- Gotta love that face!
My fondest memories of Cali were my lazy Sundays, I used to work 6 days a week at BCR, so on Sundays after cleaning, doing laundry and all that other boring stuff, I’d crash on the couch to watch a movie and drink some tea and Cali was always there to chill with me. She would lay on my chest with her face literally 3 inches from mine and then she’d begin to purr and drool all over my shirt, good times 🙂
While Cali was living with me another cat was in need of home and her name was…
Luna
Luna was also a feral cat who had been trapped/fixed and then she went to live in intern/staff housing so she was safe, well fed and they could socialize her. Situations were changing with new cats being rescued and it was just me and Cali living in a pretty big two bedroom trailer, so we decided it would be best if she could come and live with us in the spare room.
Luna was a pretty little girl, but she was very shy and skittish, it was my first experience caring for a semi feral cat and it took a lot of time for her to feel comfortable with me. I set her up in the largest bedroom/bathroom and used a section from a pet crate in the doorway so she could look out at the rest of the trailer and hopefully become friendly with Cali…
Things went pretty well considering, I created a bed area under a round table and draped cloth over the front so it was nice and dark for her so she’d feel safe and whenever I fed her or cleaned out her water bowl I’d talk in a low voice so she’d get more used to my presence. With time she began to warm up to me and eventually she allowed me to pet her… Luna LOVED butt scratches and this was the key to our friendship, it got to the point where I’d go in her room and say “Lu Lu” and she’d run out to say hello and then present me with her butt 🙂
Unfortunately one night the usually extremely sweet Cali cat managed to climb over the partition and started fighting with Luna, I was awoken by the kerfuffle and sprinted to the other side of the trailer and broke it up immediately, but the damage had been done. Although Luna was fine she was very shaken up by the experience and I knew from that day on, that it was unlikely they’d ever be friends 🙁
So Luna was living by herself for a long time, I’d go in there a few times a day to make a fuss and spend time with her but I still felt bad for her not being able to explore more and really enjoy life indoors with us… Then Jess moved in, so I moved my office into the smallest bedroom/bathroom at the other end of the trailer, this made room for all of her belongings… Plus it meant that I could work all day and Luna would be there with me rubbing on my legs and getting much more attention 🙂
But it still seemed wrong for her to be cooped up in a bedroom all the time so I decided to bring it up in a staff meeting at Big Cat Rescue. Since Cali was such a sweet girl and loved attention all the time too we figured she’d do great in the staff offices with multiple people fussing on her all day, this way we could let Luna roam our entire apartment!
So Cali went to live in the offices, although I missed her snuggles, I really wanted Luna to have a better life and I know Cali was loving all the attention from the other staff members and volunteers, I also got to see her whenever I wanted as well 🙂
So for several weeks Luna was the queen of the apartment and we both took the time to help let her know that it was safe and she could finally explore everywhere. She took an immediate liking to Jess and she would sit on the kitchen floor and call her name and Luna would trot out of her room and check out her new territory… Then demand lots of butt scratches before darting back in to her safe zone.
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- “Come pet me”
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- The view from my desk 🙂
But then another cat needed a place to live and his name was…
Jack Jack
Jack Jack had been a resident at Big Cat Rescue his entire life, he had grown up at the sanctuary and greeted tour guests everyday as they were guided around learning about the work we did to help BIG cats… Everyone loved Jack Jack, I definitely had a soft spot for him and it was so funny to see him walk the tour path with guests only 5 feet from 500lb tigers and lions!
There were several cats that wandered the property, they were all fed twice a day, treated for internal/external parasites every month and all of them had nice warm beds in our volunteer sign-in cabin. Jack was born in 1995 and he was getting up there in the age department, we had a main gate that automatically opened and closed from the inside as volunteers were leaving… One day Jack didn’t see or HEAR the gate closing and if it wasn’t for an eagle eyed volunteer swooping in to save the day Jack would have been in serious trouble!
That was when we discovered that Jack was pretty deaf and with automatic gates, golf carts, trucks and heavy machinery in use every day we decided that his time living outside was coming to an abrupt end… It was definitely the best decision for this senior kitty and with winter approaching we started putting the word out within our volunteer force to try and find him a home. We were all sad that we wouldn’t get to see Jack Jack everyday and worried that after spending almost 20 years at the sanctuary, life in an entirely new home and area would effect him badly… So I suggested that Jack could come live with us and everybody agreed emphatically!
BCR’s founder also arranged for a huge screened in porch area to be added to the outside of our trailer so Jack could wander in and out via the cat door as he pleased… The volunteers also loved that they could still stop by and say hello to Jack too 🙂
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- The king on his throne
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- Porch time 🙂
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- Jack before he moved inside…
Of course this meant that Luna was relegated back to her space again and although Jack was one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever known, I put the partition back up. Don’t worry Luna got more than enough attention both during and after work and we were all just pleased that we were making the situation work for both cats.
Jack Jack settled in to life indoors amazingly well and I think he really enjoyed the warmth and comfort, plus the never ending supply of food! Check out this video I made of the “old man” in action, I think these were the first cat toys he had ever played with and we also introduced him to catnip!
Life was good, we were living at a big cat sanctuary home to over 100 rescued exotic cats and we were also owned by two sweet “domestic” cats too… Then a tiny black kitten came into our lives!
Cole
When a friend of Jess’s found a kitten wandering around at a busy intersection one evening, she of course texted us because I was the “cat guy” to see if we could help… We saw the picture of Cole and knew he was coming home with us!
You can read more about Cole HERE
So we were now sharing our place with three cats, after baby Cole had spent many days in our bedroom/bathroom area and we were confident that he was flea free, he was let loose in the trailer! … Old man Jack was the most easy going dude around and really didn’t care much at all that this tiny little fluff ball had suddenly appeared in his territory…
If Cole did get too rowdy and Jack wanted some alone time, he could just pop out on the porch out of the way… Jack played with Cole a little but he was happy to spend most of the day on the porch sleeping and then come in at night for food and couch time… and Luna was cool being my office supurrvisor, OK the trailer was surely at capacity now, right!?
Wrong…
Dean
Two months after Cole came into our lives we were at Petsmart one Sunday and saw an adoption area in the store, obviously we had to go check out the cats and kittens and we were drawn towards a black kitten. We got chatting with the person from the rescue and discovered that his brother had just been adopted (tabby cat) and she was dissapointed that the two of them hadn’t been adopted together as a bonded pair which would have been ideal.
We both looked at each other…
We’d been saying how great it would be if Cole had another kitten to play with since he had soooooo much energy to spare and old man Jack would rather just watch this little black kitten do dumb stuff rather than participate! … So after thinking about it over coffee across the street we said let’s go back to the store and if the black kitten is still there we’ll adopt him, it was Father’s Day after all … he was still there 🙂
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- Getting rid of those fleas!
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- It’s all over little guy!
Dean was the runt of the litter and he had just recovered from an eye infection, this made us want to get him out of there and provide him with a good home even more. Back at the trailer we bathed him and discovered fleas yet again, nowhere near as bad as Cole, but bad enough.
We put him on quarantine in our bathroom until he had been checked out by our vet and then declared flea free again, talk about Déjà vu! … Then after several days we introduced him to his new brother, Cole was bigger than Dean, but as many of you know he’s a very sweet cat and the intro went smoothly…
They were running around like best buddies in no time at all and we both felt very lucky that we could provide Dean with a furever home and Cole with a new playmate with almost as much energy as he had! … Dean was a very cute and innocent cat and he soon learned that us humans were nice and warm to sleep on, my neck quickly became his favorite place to take a nap and before long, Jack, Cole and Dean were all sharing the same space with no problems at all 🙂
We now had one big, happy, kitty, family and we always had free entertainment with 4 cats in the trailer, my favorite time of the day was in the evenings when we’d all settle on the couch together 🙂
Sharing the couch together for the first time 🙂
Jack was such a good boy and never tried to steal their food
Unfortunately Dean’s eye infection returned within a week, we treated him and it cleared up pretty fast… Then 3-4 weeks later Dean lost the use of his back legs overnight, the vets tried everything over 2 days and 2 nights to try and help him, but nothing worked and neurological problems were deemed the culprit.
So after only 6 weeks with us we had to make the painful decision to say goodbye to Dean.
It’s always tough to say goodbye to animals that you’ve cared for, I was kind of used to it working at Big Cat Rescue… We had lots of senior cats living at the sanctuary and every year it was inevitable that we said our last goodbyes to some of the residents.
Losing Dean hit me hard, despite only being with us for a short amount of time we still bonded with him very closely and I couldn’t help but cry when they brought him into the room to see me one last time (Jess couldn’t bare to come with me). You could tell he recognized me and he perked up a little when he saw me, I sat there with him wrapped in a blanket trying to sooth him until the drugs took effect and he was gone…
I think knowing he only had such a short life made it worse, there’s so much more fun stuff that he could have experienced with us all, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be…
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- Trying to get him to eat on his last night…
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- Poor little guy, I hated that he spent his last days at the vet
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- Trying to comfort him
I recently made this memorial video to celebrate the short life he had with us…
Many months after Dean passed away we made the decision to move out of the trailer into an apartment around the corner from the sanctuary. We took Cole with us, but Jack and Luna remained at the sanctuary and I continued to work from the trailer everyday… I felt bad that Jack was only getting attention during the day now, so a longtime volunteer decided to adopt him and he went to live at her house with a few other cats and a GIANT screened in pool area, the purrfect retirement! – Unfortunately he passed away last month at almost 21 years of age, it was his time… RIP Jack Jack.
Luna remained my office cat for quite sometime until a Big Cat Rescue intern decided to adopt her and she’s now loving life as the only cat in the house with endless butt scratches!
Cali cat also passed away a senior kitty a couple of years ago all the staff and volunteers miss this super sweet kitty.
Sorry for the sad ending to this post, but I know many of you can relate and I think it’s important to remember the animals that have been part of your life… I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane about how I became a cat man 🙂
Thanks fur reading.
It might not be the happiest ending – but I wouldn’t call it sad. Those cats were all given wonderful homes with two-leggeds that loved them; even if they had to cross the rainbow bridge, that’s still a pretty happy “tail”…..
I wish i could rescue every single cat and animal around, still miss the 7 furballs i had to leave behind when i moved in another country ( they still alive and well, though). You’re not a crazy cat guy, crazy is whom doesn’t care about animals in need…nor humans.
Awe, this put a fear in my eye. Purrrrr on Crazy Cat Man Chris! =^..^=
Joy comes with animals whatever they are, but sadness is always close by, when they have to be put to sleep. There are memories which we will always cling to, but there are round the corner, always more needing love, kindness and a home where they always feel safe. And that is the dual role animal lovers play in the world joy and sadness.
Loved reading about your start in the U. S. at the cat sanctuary and all the wonderful cat stories. Any cat would be honored to have you and Jess in their lives. Enjoy all your stories and videos of Cole and Marm!
I loved reading your post about all your kitties! Such wonderful babies! <3
Thank you for sharing your cat history with us all! I was literally in tears after reading your story. I, too, have had many kitties in my life.
My most memorable ones were Blue and Beau. I got them as kittens when I was 7. They were my constant companions growing up. Beau was almost feral when we rescued him from a farmer, and Blue was living in the barn with his mom and siblings.
Beau was a black and brown tabby with gorgeous markings and black velvet paws. He was never much of a huggy kitty but whenever I was home sick in bed, he would always curl his furry body around my head and sleep with me.
Blue was my true blue buddy. He was a bluish gray (hence the name) and I think he may have had Siamese in him somewhere. He was very vocal! And when he wanted me to pick him up, he wouldn’t wait. I would be bending down, and he would leap onto my shoulder then dig his claws in and cling to me! He also loved to crawl under the covers in bed. He would paw at the covers until I lifted them, then he would crawl under, turn around, pop his head out and lay down and sleep like that. I think he thought he was a human!
Beau developed diabetes in my senior year of high school. He lost a lot of weight and it was difficult to give him insulin injections. After struggling for a year and watching him grow more and more afraid of me (because I was always grabbing him to give him pills and needles), I made the sad decision to say goodbye to him.
Blue stayed with me through 2 years of college. When I moved, he stayed with my grandma. A year after that, he started showing signs of diabetes as well. I couldn’t bring myself to put him through the pain I had put Beau through so I told Grandma to put him down. He was 15 years old.
I still remember Blue with much love. He was the quirkiest kitty I have ever known. He used to love licking out the single serve yogurt cups but only if I held onto the cup so his head wouldn’t get stuck! Then he’d dig in and not leave a drop!
My living condition does not allow me to have a kitty in my home at this time. Thankfully, my boyfriend has a cat named Cookie (and a dog named DAWG!) so I still get my kitty time.
I will always <3 kitties!
PS Cali was a GORGEOUS kitty! love her coloing!
Ohhh i love your history darling. Youre a great crazy cat guy like us! We have a adopted cat right now and she is our little furry princess. You can see her daily disasters in the instagram
http://www.instagram.com/biswitstheblackcat
We are your followers since a lot of time♥
Furry kisses for all!!!
I loved your happy-sad story about life with your furrbabies.Thanks so much for sharing them with us.
Absolutely lovely. You are amazing cat parents. Thank you deeply from my heart for rescuing cats and give them such a wonderful life with you.
I have never been in a situation of putting down any cats before as all my 3 cats are still kicking butts. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to go through such thing, even as a grown man. I love my cats or any cats so much.
God bless you , you are such a lovely person I love black cats too
Beautiful post! My dad grew up with dogs and was pretty indifferent to cats until he met my mom. Shortly after they got married and settled into an apartment in New York, my mom found a tabby cat in a dumpster. She was flea-infested and very malnourished, and of course my mom took her in. Dad was less than thrilled at the time, but she grew on him. Garfield lived with my family for twenty years. I’m thankful I married a cat man, and he loves cuddling our sweet fur girls. Seeing a grown man making baby talk to a little kitten is just awesome!
Thank you for sharing your cat stories with us. They definitely pull on our heart strings.
My stately elder cat Niobe chases her tail like a little kitten too! She’s normally of a similar demeanour to Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, so it’s extra adorable when she does it.
Thanks for sharing your amazing story!
I enjoyed reading this post, although it always makes me blue when I read about the passing of furbaby. I love seeing the photos and reading about Cole and Marmalade. Thanks for the stories and great videos.
I think that acknowledging their whole life is important. That they die, and leave a paw print on our hearts is the legacy of loving a cat. Thank you for sharing your past cats. Much appreciated.
I loved your memories of your kittens (cats = kittens) What a kind and loving person you are and found a kind and loving partner as well. I laughed, I cried but I mostly felt inspired. I am owned by Loki a black cat that looks like Cole and now have a little kitten named Jellybean (Jelly, as in Marmalade). Loki I adopted from my local shelter, first fostering because he was so tiny and now a two and a half year old handsome guy that I am totally in love with. Jellybean is from my hometown in Texas, he arrived in my sister’s backyard after heavy flooding. He was very tiny and seemed very street smart for being so tiny. My sister has 3 dogs and could not keep him so I had to get him. I didn’t get to pick him up until a month later and he was tiny to me so he must have been way tiny! So I brought him to my home in NM. He has grown some and is just as spoiled as Loki. I don’t think he will be a big cat like Loki. I didn’t think it would be a problem for Loki to get along with Jellybean, because Loki is the sweetest cat ever and they get along just fine, Jellybean gets groomed by Loki daily ?. I like to think that all rescues will have good endings. Thank you so much for inspiring us all to be the best cat parents ?
God bless you for loving and caring for the animals. I, too, am an animal lover, especially cats. My two furbabies died within one month of each other and I am so devastated and lost without them. I am afraid to go look for another one because I would want each and every one of them!
Oh Chris! You are such a great guy to save so many kitties! Thank you so much for sharing the lives and memories of these wonderful cats 🙂
There are a lot of cat people here, you should check out my adventures with Mr. Whiskers
http://skinnyandsingle.ca/2014/09/24/found-love-in-a-hopeless-place-volume-two/
Beautiful…. these sweet cats were lucky to have you…. <3
Awe! So sweet. It got me thinking of all of the kitties of my past. Thank you ?
Thanks for sharing your story. I loved reading it. I had 4 cats, 2 of which were only with me a short time, and your story made me cry. I now have 2 beautiful 8-month old brothers (all white) and I love them dearly. I do hope we get to spend a lot of time together! We’ve also had dogs who I love very much!
Thank you for loving them as you and Jess did. Knowing that each one of those fur babies are a part of your lives. Both of you do much to raise awareness about adoptions. Also thank you for sharing Cole and Marmi’s life journey with all of us. Keep up the great work. All the best in your new home in Chicago.
This left me a little tearing eyed.. thank you for the beautiful stories, all of your furrbabies are beautiful!
I loved seeing all the baby Cole footage. My next rescue is going to be a black cat I’ve decided, they’re beautiful and they seem to all have such sweet temperaments. I have a dark grey cat Pharaoh, that looks like Cole in build and fur type but he didn’t take to our other cat (who actually looked and acted much like Marmalade) My grey kitty loves humans and is very social but he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with my sweet ginger kitty whom we had to put down for health reasons. I want to rescue another but I don’t want trouble with my otherwise very well behaved and sweet kitty and the new one…
Thank you for sharing your memories of your cats. It is very hard to say goodbye to little friends. Last year I had a sad experience to say goodbye to a sweet black kitten last year. He lived in a park with other 3 cats ( they are neutered). He was a leader in the group. I met the black cat about 3 years ago. He jumped up on my lap at the very first met. I went to the park to see him almost everyday for 3 years. He gave me a lots of sweet times and lessons about cats. But he passed away last year while I was in a hospital.
He was aged. I regret that I was not able to have him on my lap at his passing time.
I’d like to learn about cats and help them .
I really enjoy your video and post . Thank you.
Aw, this made me tear up! Sorry you lost Dean, looks like he was a cute little guy!
That’s sad about Dean. It seems every cat has an interesting story and I have had plenty too. So how did Marmalade come into your life?
Very lovely story.. i also grew up with furbabies but unfortunately they all flew over the rainbow bridge..i lost my grandpa grumpy detroit kittie 2014 day after christmas it is still hard for me but i have two other kitties mr. Bobo n nixie that keep me happy n think of all the happy memories of all of them ?
Thank you for sharing these beautiful stories of your cats. You have made their lives better by giving them love and comfort whether it be short or long. As bittersweet and painful as it is to say goodbye, you two have continued to give love and comfort to cats. Thank you for what you both do. I love keeping up with Cole & Marmalade and truly appreciate you sharing the cats that have impacted your life.
So fantastic to hear about how you became a crazy cat guy! I actually think one is born to love cats! I am totally addicted to cats, they are precious, love them so much❤️
I have a memorial album of pets I’ve had that passed over the Rainbow Bridge. It goes back to my high school years and I’m an old lady of 72 years of age. It’s a big album! I founded our county animal shelter in 1978 and was President for 25 years. That’s another album. I have one dog and three cats, one of which is 17 years old. My last cat to pass away was 21 years. Enjoy your posts.
I follow Cole and marmalade videos regularly and marmalade is special to me as his voice reminds me of my Luna who passed away last year after spending only 10 months with us. She was hand reared by me so was very special and losing her wa very difficult. I have my two girls- manya, who is a tuxedo( I wanted a black cat but fell in love with her) and Ron-Orange cat (she was supposed to be manya’s companion but she is my mainstay)
I love the big cat rescue videos too.
keep up the good work.
Siddhi
Such blessed kitties coming into your life…I cried at the end, but knowing all of these kitties had the best care is what matters. My hubby and I love all of our kitties – feral and domesticated – and we feel blessed by them!
Loved learning about your and the kitties backgrounds. All your kitties have been blessed to have good loving parents.
Thanks for sharing. You are a good writer/communicator. You bring love and smiles to many people. That is a wonderful gift to have.
Dear Crazy Catman, thank you so much for all your posts. I don’t have a cat, but I do love them and feel that I am able to share yours. I look forward to see and hear about your move, and how Cole and Marmalade cope your the journey and move. How far is the journey that you have to take? Many, many thanks from Bristol UK.
Lovely post to read, every animal adds something to our lives, and a piece of our heats invariably go with them when their time comes
Thank you for your cat history – it made fascinating reading. And ur a Brit !! Your childhood photos are lovely (1980’s?) we had those very same kitchen tiles lol
I’m in floods!
Everytime I see your videos or I read your posts, it’s like I can feel a love for life in all its expressions. Many thanks for doing all you’re doing! Hope you all have a good new life in Illinois 🙂
Everytime I see your videos or I read your posts, it’s like I can star feeling a real love for life in all its expressions. Thanks for doing all your doing! Hope you all have a good new life in Illinois 🙂
Cats come and go throughout our lives, and ALL of them leave little paw prints on our hearts as reminders of themselves, and to remind us that if another cat needs us, to step up and help him or her. This, I think, is the greatest memorial we can give those cats who have moved on before us.
Why did Luna and Cali fight? Because they are females and females are territorial. Even sisters who are raised together will have an occasional outbreak of violence. Males don’t fight over territory, they fight over female maiting rights. something to keep in mind.
What a great story! Thank you fur sharing. We were always dog people until last July… while on our way to feed our 2 horses hubby says ” what was that… a puppy?” I didn’t see it so he then said ” maybe it’s a kitten, def not a squirrel”. Of course I yelled at him TURN AROUND BEFORE SOMEONE DRIVES OVER IT!!!! So…………. we turn around and I see a small grey ball of fluff just to the right of the yellow line in the road. Jump out without looking for traffic ( hubby horrified) to find a 6/7 week old kitten! The way she turned her head to look at me then turned it right back onto the pavement I thought she was about to die. I carefully scooped her with both hands into the truck. No blood, no screaming so she wasn’t badly hurt if at all. After vet the next day ( loaded with ear mites and worms) she settled into our home with 3 weiner dogs! I tell you she is one tough cookie! They played with her so hard I couldn’t believe she would go back for more! She loved it! Of course now tables have turned and she stalks the dogs until they cry and run for safety….We named her Southbound 22. We found her on the southbound side of rte 22 in Franklinville, NC. Southie ( which is where hubby is from in MA) is her pet name!
Love your website and carry on Marm & Cole!
What a little cutie pie you were Chris and you seem to have not aged at all!
Such an endearing and heartfelt compilation of true love. Seldom do I ever run across a man who loves cats the way you do!
I have been an animal/cat lover my entire life and since my family rescued strays…our home was called The Zoo House in the City and as a little girl I was known as The Cat Lady! Besides rescuing squirrels, sparrows, cats and dogs…we had parakeets, fish, a rabbit, two turtles and bought and paid for a squirrel monkey…but couldn’t get him to leave the pet shop! My last feline was rescued at 12 weeks old by my Mom and she (Mia, a tuxedo) lived for 20 years!
Sometimes my personality interchanges with that of a feline…cause I was known for wanting butt “scratches” as you call them. lol
Anyway, I really enjoyed reading your story and thought I would have loved to do something like that: work at a sanctuary! But I do have a Guestbook on my website on my AniTails Page that could use some shares and stories. AniTails shares stories about my latest rescues of raccoons and opposums. Stop by for a visit: http://www.sahiyena.org and click AniTails!
Beautiful Post!
I don’t really think all this ending is that sad… Nature gave a bad dealing to Dean, that’s sad indeed, but if you have all other cats living happily and in the end die of old age after having lived a life of being loved and cared for, there shouldn’t be anything sad about that, should there? I really hope I ‘ll be able to give the same thing to my three furrballs 🙂
Love the story, Big Cat Rescue is one of my favourite places. My parents had a villa down on St Petes Beach and when we were over from the UK we used to visit. It was Wild Life on Easy Street when I first went. Be sure to check out my Facebook group – ‘The anything but boring cat owners group’. Would love to see some pics of Cole and Marmalde on there!!
I truly enjoyed reading about your history with cats while you’ve been in the states! Thank you so much for sharing. And yes, it’s very important to never forget and always keep remembering what our fur-babies have brought to our lives. Thank you for all you do for the cat family… God Bless. xo
You could have put Marmalade in the end so that it wouldn’t be so sad. Anyways great post thanks 🙂
As a fellow “crazy cat guy” I feel identified by a lot of what you said 🙂
In your videos you can see the love you have for Cole & Marmalade, other cats and animals in general, you and your wife are wonderful people.
Love your vids! thx!
This was a great post. I am a cat lover as well and it is wonderful the amount of care that was given to them. They are wonderful and interesting creatures that are misunderstood by many.
Chris, thank you so much for taking the time to do this wonderful Post. It’s the wonder of animals, isn’t it? People either get it or don’t, there’s no half measures. Thank goodness there are people like you and Jess in the world.
I love the story. You and Jess have a purrfect life. My heart is now broken because my husband and I have owned cats for about 24 years now, married for 25 almost 26 years. I found out the reason I haven’t been breathing well, is I am allergic to cats! This problem breath started a few years ago and has gotten steadily worse. I refuse to give up Buddy and Dolly, but these will be our last cats. I can’t imagine this at all. I know somehow that the cats we have had in the past will always be there for me, even when they are gone. Man, am I going to hate this! I will visit places to see cats, but will never be able to take home any I fall head over heals in love with again. : ( I guess I will always have everyone else’s cats…..
Greetings from Chile, South America!
i have a lovely kitty called Domi
she is my entire life, and we love eah other’s company!
I wondered how the Cole and Marmalade videos came to be. I love the history of your love of cats and have made it your life. Very informative…I thought initially they were so funny as my cats did the same antics but with your background it goes much deeper. Thanks for sharing???
That was a great post….We’re sad about Dean but at least he had a lot of love in his short life. Jack and Cali were lucky to have had such along life!
The Florida Furkids
Thank you very much for sharing your story with us, despite the fact that it is painful to relive the times you enjoyed with your previous cats. Nevertheless, it is important to keep their memory alive.
It is so sad when one loses a furbaby. I am now living in the UK (married to a Brit!) and as you probably know, not many rentals here allow pets. Our retirement flats are no exception, unfortunately, so we don’t have any kitties. I used to have a beautiful tiger-kitty named Asia who came into my life when she was 2 weeks old. She was a “please forgive me” gift from my step-son (my late DH’s boy) who had let my dog out without a lead and of course, Dawg (yep, that was his name!) got tangled up in the traffic and did not survive. About a month later, SS brought Asia to me. She had been abandoned and we took her in. She was supposed to be my kitty and slept curled up on my pillow at night with her nose in my ear, purring away. DH supposedly did not care for cats — yeah, right! He worked from home and when I arrived home early one evening after work, I crept into his office to surprise him. What did I find? He had a bed pillow placed next to his mouse and keyboard so Asia could relax in comfort while he worked!! So much for not caring for cats — ha! 😉 SS left home a few years later to work in Alaska and never returned. But the kitty he gave us was with us for just a little over 16 years. Asia passed away without warning one night in mid-May 2000. DH was heartbroken; I had never seen him cry before and of course, I was in bits. She was such a big part of our family and traveled everywhere with us, all over the western US. A few months later, DH died of acute heart and lung failure, so I basically lost my whole family that summer. I haven’t lived with any kitties since, but I have re-married 😉 and now I watch cat videos in the wee hours when I can’t sleep. Thank you for sharing your kitties with all of us, it really means a lot!
Thank you for sharing your journey. To me it’s hardest to loose the young ones. So much they did not get to experience. I’ve had to say goodbye to so many over the years. Doesn’t get any easier. Love Cole and Marmalade.
Loved reading about you and your kitties. I’ve been a big fan of Cole and Marmalade. Reading about Dean was so sad though! The same thing happened to my Toonces. It was so hard going through that. I still tear up thinking of her. Anyway, i have so much respect knowing why you started recording Cole. Black cats are my favorite too! Thanks for all you do!
Oh why couldn’t we meet year ago…and you either up here in Canada or I down there! Finding a good man who shares the same love for a kitty is hard to find!! Lol.
Reading your story brought tears to my eyes as I know the pain all too well! 3 cats in 14 months!! Gut wrenching pain!
Glad there’s people out in the world who love the fur babies and are there to help them out! Bless you!
A friend shared on of your videos with me and now I’m hooked. I loved reading your story of Cali, Luna, Jack Jack, Cole, and Dean. It was sad to lose Dean and I cried about Jack Jack, but he had a good, long life, yes?
My husband and I now have 3 indoor cats (all rescues and one of them was my first bottle baby), and 2 outside cats. One of the outside cats showed up 2 1/2 years ago in bitter, below zero weather. He won’t come in the house but he has 2 warm, clean sleeping areas outside and he’s well cared for and well loved.
Rick and I used to volunteer with a no-kill rescue group and some of the stories broke my heart.
Ok, well, I didn’t mean to ramble, but I love your writing and your videos, so I’m signed up now.
Thank you so much for sharing!
I loved your story about how you became a crazy cat man, it inspired me to tell you about how I became a cat lover too. Hope you don’t mind it’s a bit of a tale but every word is true. I’ve never been a cat lover until I met the cat who saved my life. About 18 yrs ago a relationship I was in broke up and I was devasted, I really felt I had nothing to look forward to. One day a friend said ‘ come on I’m taking you to see a clairvoyant’ we called her scary Mary, well I reluctantly went along to keep my friend happy. Scary Mary told me that I will meet a cat and I must acknowledge it as it’s a message from the spirit world. Oh yeah i thought what a load of twaddle, how will I know when it’s THE CAT? Scary Mary said it will come into the house or garden but whatever I will know. i told her i didnt like cats but that didnt matter. She wrote it all down and I still have it today.
Some weeks later I felt so down and lonely I made a decision to end my life (I feel stupid now but that’s how I felt). So I emptied out my blood pressure tablets and painkillers onto the coffee table opened a bottle of wine and about to start when a knock came at the door. Bloody hell I thought can’t even commit suicide in peace so I went to the door and there was the tallest man I’d ever seen! He asked me if I’d lost a cat? No I said and went to close the door, as I did so he put his hand to his head and explained he’d come home from work and heard a mewing from his wood store and found this kitten. I suggested he called the animal rescue place, he said he had but they were full to capacity and couldn’t take it in. He said he’s knocked on everyone’s door in the streets around but no body would take ownership. Nothing to do with me and started to close the door again. But I can’t keep the cat in allergic the man said, so I did something really out of character for me, i told him to bring the cat to me then and could he let vets etc in the area that we are holding a lost kitten.
The man left to get the cat and I quickly tidied away my pills and so on. When he came back he placed this tiny black bundle of fur in the Palm of my hand with the loudest pur you’ve ever heard. The kitten crept up my arm and put out a law and patted my cheek……I fell in love!
I called him Pussy cat for a while as I thought I’d get to attached and it’s rightful owner would come to claim him, over time this got shortened to PC.
No one ever claimed him and he lived with me for 14 yrs…My heart and soul, my best friend the cat who saved my life.RIP my boy.
I love your pics and videos. Thx so much that you share your love and life with the kitties. I’ve been with cats since I was 18 and never again want to be without. My longest cat-partner lived 23 years with me and it was very sad when he passed away. But we had a good and long time together. Now I’m living with two of them, both blue-eyed Thai cats, 10 and 4 years old, getting along very well with each other (all the three of us). So again thx for sharing your cat life with us. Say hello to C&M and take care!
Susanne from Germany
Hey Chris! I’m glad you’re a fellow cat guy! Meeko and Eddy love watching Cole and Marm on the tv, too. I just wrote a post about the top ten things I wish I’d known before getting a cat….of course it’s definitely a little slanted and biased because cats are the best animals ever 🙂 If you have a chance, you should check it out! https://meowandlater.com/getting-a-cat/
Where did you move to America from? I am a crazy cat lady from England that moved to Colorado. and currently have 3 rescues. Shiloh of 8 years, Salem of 7 years and Frosty Paws of just a year. The 3rd spot that frosty paws took was previously taken by Sahara and then ghost, both recuse, Sahara that had never been let out of one room and after she was found to have very advanced stage cancer street she had been with me for 2 years, she did back in 2014. I then adopted ghost on Halloween 2014, he was a senior all white cat and my Buffy immediately. He was dumped at a shelter and he was found to have a bad stomach tumor just 2 months later. Like Dean, this hit me the most when ghost was taken from us, after just that short time, we had formed an incredible bond and I hand tears running down my cheeks writing this. 1 week after we lost ghost, I got a call to see if we could have room for a cat that had been staying in a glass makers shop, maybe it was fete on timing but my husband says no more than 3 so at that time, we had the 3rd spot open and along came frosty paws. I had a rescue of 18 years called whisper that I had in England that unfortunately wad too old to travel here when I came back in 2006 and she lived her lady few months with my lovely neighbors that cared for her when I used to go on holiday in England. I donate and help out at a local place called recycled cat rescue. Well that’s my cat story. I loved reading all about how you became the crazy cat guy and all about Marm and Cole. Thank you for doing what yout do for any cat.
More purl ease on when Marmcame into the fold and you left BCR for Calif….
More on when Marm came into the fold and you left BCR for Calif
I too cried at the end of your story. Tears of happiness knowing what an awesome person you are to have such a big and generous heart. Tears of sadness for it’s sad to lose the ones you love. Thank you so much for sharing your story.
I found your posts by accident…so happy I did! My daughter and I gained the the trust of 2 Feral Kittys…MorninGlory (male), & SnapDragon, (female) , & we rescued them when apt. managers failed to care for them, after throwing their entire family out in the hills behind us, to mouse and snake-critter hunt for them. They were awesome and even caught rattle snakes as a bro-sis team! I have a fb page I am working on,to leave a legacy for them…”A Gato Named MorninGlory”, on facebook…You & everyone here are invited. I don’t know if you have seen it..too late now for little Dean, but a family put a skate under the neuro’d-out back legs of their bunny and he survived! Hope that never happens to your Kittys again. You have been great to your Kittys! After my daughter moved out,I had some health problems. I wasn’t able to raise money for MorninGlory’s last
struggle, at almost 15 years, but,he joined SnapDragon, very peacefully,quickly,& naturally, under his favorite Eucalyptus trees! Keep posting.You are an encouragement! My w woke me up in the middle of the night, when neighbors started a fire! They really LOVE us!?
something got into my eyes.. beautifull post
Great post. Loved hearing about all the cats you’ve had in your life 🙂
Every cat in our life is important. Unfortunately their lives are shorter than ours. So, we loss a lot of furfriends … that´s so sad. But, they leave paw prints in our hearts, never forgotten! And every “new” cat in our life is a new love, a new adventure. I love to read about you, your time at BCR and Cole and Marmelade.
I love this story, although I am sitting on a train with tears running down my face, I have always had cats in my life and the more I have the cleverer they seem to become, my husband is Turkish and couldn’t understand how I could treat a cat as a human until we got misty aka mistycle our fur baby he loves him, talks to him, plays with him! The best life in the world is one shared with your fur babies, especially kittens/cats.
you’re awesome!!!!
Poor Dean.
Great and thanks for sharing your cat life. We cat guys need to tell everyone we meet that cats are the best, no matter the size
Dad Pete
We really appreciate you sharing your wonderful stories with amazing cats. There are great days and sad days but all days are full of love.
Purrs
How lucky those cats found you and vice versa..
No matter how many times I here Dean’s story ,i always end up crying
It really is sad when you must say goodbye to a loved and dear pet, of any kind. So I can empathize with your loss of Dean. I’ve always said to every pet I’ve had in the last twenty years, that I would be with them at the end, and I’ve kept that promise. No matter what, I stayed with them and cried for them, and myself when it came time to say goodbye. I now have a new fur by, feline, and her name is Luna. Luna just turned eight months old on July second and I know I’ll have many years with her. Many loving and playful years. Thank you Chris for all your videos of Cole and Marmalade. I feel almost like those two guys of yours are a part of my family. I wish them long, healthy years and seeing photos and videos are something to look forward to. You truly are a “Cat Man”.
I read the whole story and it’s so nice. I remember Cole from Facebook. It’s Cole and Marmelade❤️I had 4 cats. Now I have 3. One black,sadly he died! He was so beautiful and I think it’s sad that they get adopted last and are being put down first. They’re also beautiful cats and me to I love black cats so much. Now I have one red,and two tricoloured❤️I love cats❤️And all
Other animals❤️
I would like to b intouch if i may
I’m really amazed by your story … you’re indeed the cat guy … and very handsome =D
I’m a huge fan of Cole and Marmalade and I like spending some time watching them on YouTube. I have seven cats, Jimmy Page, Roger Taylor, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Piaff, Penelope and Perola, our well’grown fur babies =D
I can’t even imagine my life without these fur creatures… they bring love and joy!
Keep on with this amazing work of yours!
Loved reading this. Animals are such an important part of our lives. I have had several kitties share their lives with me during my nearly 60 years. For some reason it still surprises me that when I lose one of them, I am ready to allow another to share his/her life with me even though I know how painful the eventual parting will be. Wouldn’t trade lives with anyone!
You are such a great guy to take in all these cats! I have my rescue cat Nix! She is about a year old now spayed and declawed. I found her on the highway when she was about 4 weeks old and brought her home. She is not one to be played with a lot but she likes the occasional petting. I also have my dog Jack who is also a rescue. He is a sweetheart and loves attention but is shy around new people. He is about 3 now. Also fixed. I love them both! They are great therapy pets for my special needs children.
I loved reading your post, it brought tears to my eyes ,i know its hard, i have had to put some of my cats down.
you need to update this with Marm!
I’ve read this article and end up teary a little; I had to put to sleep a feral cat I fed for months, and trying to find a shelter for him or just TNR near my home, and the day I finally managed to get him and shelter in my bathroom for one night, before going to the vet for TNR, the vet told me he was way too hurt for him to have a proper life. He had so many problems he was better off asleep forever.
This was my first time at deciding to euthanize, I’m not ready to do it again, unless my 3 home cats are super old !
Anyway, I watch your videos on a regular basis and they make me smile and informed, I thank you for being a cat slave too ^^ and I’ll keep reading and watching your youtube and blog.
Also, thank you for keeping people have faith in other human beings.
I seriously don’t get how people don’t want to adopt black cats, it baffles me. This is a superstitious reason that has no context today, about sorcey and whatnot.
All cats should be loved, no colours should be excluded.
That reminds me I have to go and see how the black kitten I fetched the other day and is hiding in my garage, is doing … I hope he’ll get used to the environment so I can carry him to the vet !
This is so beautiful Chris. Thank you for sharing.
Love all the kitty lives you’ve touched – big and small. And are you kitten me with that photo of baby Cole? ? I had to say goodby to my two-year-old orangey three months ago and I miss him every day. I guess every cat person has those stories. Thanks for everything you do!
wow this a awesome article, nice to know that their are men that care just as much about cats as women, thanks for sharing.