[Kathy]

In addition to my two real children, Emma 5 1/2 and Ava 3, I have pet children too. We have 1 dog, 3 cats, 1 leopard tortoise, 3 saltwater fish, and 1 beta fish (had two but the youngest cat ate one).

So here is a little about my other children.... I have a 6 year old all white male boxer, Jack. Since you don't see the white one's often, he makes me be social when I don't feel like it, people asking about him, talking to him and enjoying his love. He is my 90 Lb. baby, he really thinks he is a cat, and my cat thinks he's a dog!

I also have my step-son black and white cat, Barney, who my husband had before I met him. This cat is the fattest cat you have probably ever seen AND he is 17 years old (amazingly, he is very healthy). All the time people ask me when her kittens are due and I tell them, he is fixed. We joke that he needs gastric bypass surgery and a body lift! He loves to lay on my feet, which drives me insane; but he is very sweet.

The next cat is a brown tabby, Oliver, we rescued from the pound and he is 1 year old. He is fun and always busy, watching the fish in our saltwater tank, trying to figure out how the heck he is going to eat them. Lets the kids play with him; but will scratch them when they cross the line (all my cats have claws to not only defend themselves from other animals; but from my kids!)

Last, is a black with small white markings female kitten, Kaylee. She adopted us, we found her in our garage (we live in the city in a subdivision, surrounded by city, so I have no idea where she came from). We found her running around in the garage, eating the cat food and she was about 5 weeks old. When we finally caught her (she obviously had a ferrell mother), her ribs poked out and she was covered in dirt and fleas. Got her to our vet, she had worms too, so it was a good thing we found her, or she would have probably have died from the fleas and worms. We guess our older kitten either carried her home or she followed him inside. Something like this: Our Cat:"hey, you look hungry, we have lots of food where I stay" Other Kitten: "hmm, let me think about it" Our Cat:"We have cat toys, fish, people that rub you whenever you want and a big fat cat we can chase" Other Kitten: "That sounds fun, think I will come check it out" My husband is a big softie and once the kids and I had claimed her, he had no choice but to let us keep her. She is almost a year old now and extremely playful. Always chasing and batting at something on the floor. She still is a bit skittish; but will come sit on me and let me pet her for hours (her fur is so soft, softer than my other cats). She has claimed me and really doesn't go to anyone else, which is fine with me.

For extra entertainment, we have a laser pen light that the animals go nuts chasing it around. The cats are the boss of the dog and he takes it. They will play for hours, he will get the cat in his mouth and 'play' with them and for some reason, they like it. Animals are so much fun, entertainment, enjoyment and unconditional love. I don't know where I would be without them. As much as I hate dog slobber, sometimes a big ole kiss from him is the best.