The Cats of the Mabry Household

This page will introduce you to our cats, all 8 of them. The reason we have so many is that, as you will see, 6 of them are rescued cats

(Unless otherwise noted, all the descriptions of our cats are written by Robin.)

One day at work at UN-Omaha, as secretary for the Foreign Language Dept, I had to order supplies, and I ordered a dozen steno pads and one cat, black, male. As it happened, Central Supply had one! I went down to pick up the kitten, and saw the perfect little black cat. He had a perfect little triangle Elf-face, but was much too hairy for an Elf. Then he climbed up on my shoulder. Well, everyone knows that the elves have ties with Hobbits, so he had to be from the Took-side, and climbing up like he did, he was a Peregrine; therefore, Peregrine Took is our oldest and wisest of cats. His birthday is October 31st, 1981, and he just loves people coming over to say "HI" to him.

He DOES take his role as Protector of the House most seriously. One day I got a frantic call at work: My husband called to tell me I *HAD* to go home and secure the apartment. (Of course, this had to be AFTER I got back from lunch.) When I got home, it turned out that, in spite of telling the manager that we had to have 24 hr notice so we could put the cats up, the maintainance man decided that he could waltz in, change the a/c filter, and cruise out. WELL, Took let him change the filter, put the mechanicals back in place, then chased him through the living room (where the front door was), around the corner, into the kitchen, UP onto the kitchen table, and (after he removed the screen) out the kitchen window, shutting the window after his escape! What a ***BRAVE*** Took!!! (Especially when you realize that Took only has 3 fangs, no front claws, and was, at the time, 8+ years old!). He's still defending his house, but more on that later.

Yes, you can laugh, but that is her name. There are three reasons for this: (1) When we lived in North Platte, NE, one day Spence had been out setting up a Computer Lab in one of the local schools. He had on a three-piece suit. We went out to look at some cats that afternoon, and as he was holding a small gold tabby -- all of a sudden he heard some purring next to his left ear. Well, MS DOS had climbed up his suit and was telling him to take her home. (2) She has a white collar that runs around her neck, so, as Robin says, she is "a white collar worker." (3) She used to love playing on the computer. So, of course she is MS DOS.

She was born in 1983, and her birthday is July 4th, fitting for our "Queen of the Universe." This is one cat that refuses to leap when she can climb, and even though she is long-harried, loves to sleep under the electric blanket in winter.

Across from our church, there lived an old woman with a bunch of "farm-cats" (i.e. you couldn't get within a block of them). She died one year around Christmas, 1991. I worried about the cats. By January, these semi-feral cats were coming up to us--they were starving and without water. I couldn't let this happen, so we started feeding them and making sure there was water for them. Others helped, but we were the main "keepers of the cats." (I'll be happy to continue discussions re these other fine people in another section, if any are interested. When folks from church ask, I tell them that the girls have "I was Saved at All Saints" on their collars.) Eventually, the property was sold and the house torn down (again, another story). Little Mama, as we called her then, was obviously the Matriarch of the bunch, all you had to do was look at them to tell! Eventually, we managed to capture her and her 2 litters of kittens (it really took that long to get them all! The house started to be torn down in March of 1992 and we finally got all of the kittens and Little Mama the end of September of that year), and a kind vet who goes to our church neutered/spayed a total of 8 captured kitties for FREE! Little Mama now is known as Lily (she no longer parties like she used to) and has become a fat, sassy, and totally secure lap cat. No more running from dogs, cars, kids, or wondering where her next meal and a warm, snug house to sleep in can be found.

Spence went to Maundy Thursday service in 1992 and I was home sick. When he returned, he had 2 kittens: He said that the house across from the church was being torn down, the fireplace had been pulled out, and as he watched, two kittens walked out from inside the house. He brought the pair home (they both fit into his one hand). I was watching StarTrek TNG when he came in. The black-and-white unit had a perfect "1" on her face. Obviously, "Number One"! But Took was our "Number One" cat and would come when we called that name. The newcomer had to be "Commander Riker" and her litter-mate, naturally, became "Counselor Troi". Troi did get a promotion, so she's now part of the Bridge crew, even if she does hide under the sofa (newbee--I guess she doesn't want to go through that ceremony Worf went through (not that we'd do THAT to any self-respecting cat!!))

R.I.P. August 1993.

The only cat we ever paid any money for. We rescued him from a certain death in 1984 when we lived in North Platte, NE. The Humane Society there had an Adopt-A-Pet and he was listed as "Raggedy Andy", a polydactyl (which means he had more than 5 toes on each foot), infested with ringworm and their vet had recommended putting him to sleep. We adopted him, took him to our vet and Lo and Behold, he grew into his feet.

The reason his name is "Du Bist" is because, at an Arts and Sciences Collegial at the University of Illinois (See: SCA): During the course on "How to Present and Receive (things) During Court", the instructress said: "If someone gives you something, and you don't know what IT is, say: 'Thank you for the lovely dubus.' We went through several potential names prior to the class, but when we got back home and called him "Du Bist" he came running! It had to be his name!!! And as everyone knows, a cat will tell you his/her name when you are ready to listen. (It's also German for "You are!")

He lived for 8 years, when full grown a cat the size of an IBM Selectric typewriter and yet a real "scaredy cat." If anyone came over, he would go running under the couch (until he couldn't fit) or bed. Only when Took or MS DOS told him it was okay to come out would he. He died of what is known as Feline Urological Symptom, something that neutered male cats can get. We miss him terribly.

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