Krukker's mother was a neighborhood stray who we took inside temporarily during a bad snow storm in the spring of 1993. We soon discovered that the kit-cat was a cat-kit... she was somewhat pregnant. Krukker and his siblings were born in our living room. He was the biggest of the four kittens, and the fiestiest. His attitude and physique reminded us of our favorite baseball player and we kept him after finding homes for the others (including his mother who went to live with Linda's parents).

As our first cat, Kruk is the Primary Puddy.
An expert in inter-species politics, he serves as chief negotiator and spokescat for the group. A born organizer, we fear he is only too aware that they have a voting majority over us.

The Terrible Trio: Buster, Fred, and Krukker

Fred E. Cat, named for his
cautious and conservative
personality, was adopted from
a Pennsylvania animal shelter.

Freddie is the undisputed king of
the cats -- just ask him! He is also both the meanest and the cuddliest of them (depending on his mood). Fred enjoys playing catch with the plastic rings that come on gallon milk containers. He likes them tossed high over his head so he can jump for them. Fred can jump over three feet straight up and catch a tossed plastic ring in mid air! Contrary to what some may believe about animals and color vision, he can clearly  distinguish colors and has definite preferences, choosing dark blue rings over other colors when possible.

Frostbite, owner and manager of Frostbite's "World-of-Mice" Used Stuffed Toy Emporium, came to live with us in March 1997. He is a refugee from the disastrous Ohio River flood that year, when Linda volunteered to work with Terri Crisp's wonderful Emergency Animal Rescue Service organization (E.A.R.S.). Frostbite has appeared on national television, in an NBC news special focused on the animal rescue operation.  His ears, nose and the pads on his feet were burnt and damaged  from exposure and he had a very bad respiratory infection. We weren't sure he was going to survive. Well, he did -- in fact he was running around picking on the big cats within a couple of weeks. Frostbite, also known as "Terror Lipmanski", is the most playful of the cats (he's the youngest), and he loves to wrestle with the others. He also loves his toys. He will play leap and catch with a human and return tossed toys (he prefers rattly stuffed mice to plastic rings, though).

Freddie leaps to catch
a tossed milk container
ring. This is really a pretty
tame leap for Fred; on a
good jump his back feet
would clear the windowsill.

Buster (1995-2001) was born wild in our Ohio neighborhood. He was always terrified of other humans, but he loved us and was very affectionate. I don't think he believed we really ARE humans. Despite his non-brand-name origin, Buster was truly an upscale model cat, and he came with all the choicest accessories, such as custom-tufted ears, super-deluxe heavy-duty upholstery, racing stripes, sports whiskers, and wrap-around tail. His alarm system was also fully functional, especially when low on fuel. Buster was struck by a car and killed on the night of April 27, 2001, only a few hundred feet from where he was born. He will be badly missed for a long, long time.

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