Bump, cause I lol'd at this pic...

This my kitty, Mona. She just woke up from a nap...

http://i47.tinypic.com/9uxczl.jpg

Did you get her? I was wondering if she would be deaf, as are most white cats with blue eyes. She's really beautiful!

This kitty isn't really white. I think she will darken as she gets older. See the tabby stripes on her tail? And it looks like she will be pointed on her face as well.

My best boy, Walter. He's seriously the sweetest, goofiest, clumsiest boy ever. Yes, he's 65 lbs, and he sleeps on the queen bed with my husband and I. No, I don't mind. Yes, he gives the best dog kisses ever. < /Humane Society Diamond Dog >

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...42015844_n.jpg

I found this photo kinda funny, because people always stop us and ask, "Is that a big Scottie dog?" Nope. He's a Schnabrador...black lab/giant schnauzer.
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...40100771_n.jpg

And he loves riding in my hatchback.
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...92615561_n.jpg

Awwww!

I'm glad this thread got bumped. See, a funny thing happened on the way to the breeder...

The breeder asked us if we had any preferences on sex or color. We had no preference on sex, but we wanted to get an orange cat, or, failing that, a flamepoint cat.

Flamepoint and sealpoint colorations are a form of albinism. The fur that grows in areas of the cat that are at normal cat body temperature stays white, while the fur that grows in cooler areas of the cat's body (ears, paws, tail, parts of the face) comes in orange (for flamepoint) or grey (for sealpoint). Since the mother cat's womb is at normal cat body temperature, flamepoint and sealpoint kittens are born white, and then the color develops.

There were two white kittens in the litter, a boy and a girl. The breeder thought the boy would stay white and the girl would go flamepoint. She sent us the picture I posted.

The breeder was going to arrange to have the kitten spayed before we picked her up. Then, one day, we got an email from her saying that her usual vet was on vacation and that her backup vet wouldn't do a neuter on a kitten less than 6 months old. I was surprised - NEUTER?? Weren't we getting a girl?? It turned out that the girl stayed white and the boy went flamepoint, so she set aside the boy for us.

And here he is:

Whiskey as a kitten:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y24...7/100_1039.jpg

Whiskey on his first birthday: (This is my cover photo on Facebook.)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y24...7/100_1241.jpg

Beautiful! Of the feral cats we did the Trap-Neuter-Release program with, two were Lilac Points, and one was Flame Point. The Flame Point was the nicest, sweetest cat we ever worked with!

Honeychile! You work with rescue & TNR? I have even more respect for you :) I run a Labrador rescue group.

I haven't heard of lilac points. What breed(s) are lilac points associated with? I assume the "points" are purple?

Several cat breeds have the gene for points, like Siamese, Himalayans, and Persians. The "lilac" color is actually a shade of light gray... but wouldn't a purple kitty be pretty ;)

Thanks for your bouquets, but I haven't been able to work with them for a couple years. I will ALWAYS do so when I can, though, as it's so necessary! So many people think it's okay to let their cat out all night, and it's heart breaking!

I'll bust myself and say that the first cat we trapped was Luke (the flame point Siamese). He was whining pitifully, and I went inside and said, "I'm not made to do this! He's killing me!" My family (what's left of it) has never let me forget that! But it IS hard to keep them in the trap until you can get the vet help they need.

The lilac point kitty was truly a lilac - almost like the light shade of the Greek Sheets ad on this site. She was an absolute beauty! Sadly, she was mean, and the people who tried to home her asked us to remove her at any cost. She had a calico daughter who was THE prettiest calico I've ever seen! I had her playing and almost ready to home when her mother came home, and she too became mean. Callie the calico is alive, but Lilac is gone. The average lifespan of a feral cat is only 3 years. One of these days, I'll post pictures of them - especially Luke. He was the flame point.

Question to aephialum: does Whiskey have some wild tendencies? I've heard it said that cats with a lot of whiskers in their ears usually do. Callie has those, too.

Whiskey is the sweetest cat in the world. :) "Doglike tendencies" are characteristic of the breed - he meets us at the door when we come home, he likes to play fetch, he likes to be in whatever room we're in, etc. His tail is almost always straight up in the air (a sign of happiness) unless he's asleep or otherwise curled up. He likes to scramble around the house sometimes (which can be amusing to watch, as we have hardwood floors and he has no brakes) but that's about as wild as he gets.

Hee hee :) Mona yawned.

Pictures of my chinchillas are posted somewhere in this thread.

In 2010, I was lucky enough to add a rabbit to my home. His name is Billy Idol and he is truly a joy.

Hanging out on the couch.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...5_221256-1.jpg

Playing in the covers on my bed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...930_164130.jpg

What's your Labrador rescue group's name? I'm with Small Paws Rescue, Inc, for Bichon Frises and their friends. As beautiful and a sweet Bichons are, they can be hard to housebreak, and a lot of them end up on the streets - it's heartbreaking. My Buffy gave me a paw ring one Christmas - picture an upside down heart with two digits on each side of the point. He had good taste!

When we finally get our condo (or house), we're looking at rescue first. Puppies are adorable, but neither my DH nor I have ever housebroken an animal. So... we're reading up like mad!