NEW CAT PLAYGOUND

This is a new kitty condo we placed in our living room. As you can see, the cats are enjoying it immensely. I've seen them hanging upside down from it, dangling from the top edge, and even nudging one another out of the cat-bird seat at the top. They're so much fun to watch. I have seven cats right now and yes, that's too many, but these kitties needed homes and I didn't go searching for any of them - they all found me. The calico is Roxie (or Roxanne). My sister asked if I'd take her in after she was abandoned - pregnant and cold. Roxie had 5 gorgeous kittens we helped raise and all of them have loving forever homes. The tiger cat on the top at left, and the yellow cat on the bottom of the kitty condo are brothers - Cody (tiger) and Casey (yellow). They were tiny kittens when found abandoned on the entrance ramp of an expressway. They stole our hearts. The black cat in the photo above is Blooper (aka Blue). He was left alone when his owner entered the hospital and unexpectedly passed away. A friend who was looking out for him called me and asked for help. I noticed the sweet 9-month-old cat was dragging his left left leg and was soon diagnosed as having a shattered hip joint. We don't know if it was from abuse or just from a curious kitten jumping off something and misjudging his landing. Surgery was very expensive, so I asked for help from my dear friend, Deanna, and from online friends. All of us, along with the friend who initially helped the kitty, raised all the funds for his surgery and he's now a happy, healthy boy. If any of you were involved in that effort, I thank you and Blooper thanks you. The name change was in honor of the little "bloop, bloop" sound he makes when he's talking to me. The other cats are Bigger Tigger (a tall tiger striped boy who was plaintively crying from the woods behind my home - he found me while I was walking the dog one day), Holly, who was abandoned in my daughter's neighborhood on a cold wintry day and who apparently loves tomatoes (see her picture below in another story), and sweet, shy little Betsy (a black and white kitty who was thrown from a car along with her three kittens) We found homes for all the kittens, but Betsy is just too timid and scared to be subjected to the adoption process. She's still uneasy when she's held and she jumps at the slightest noise, but she knows she is loved and has a forever home with us. She's finally learning to play and will sometimes sit on our laps for a few seconds, so I know there's hope for her. Each cat has a story and not all the stories are pleasant, but we've tried to make their lives better and I want to think our lives are better for having helped these animals in need.