Mike, Ellie, and Ernie

Anna, who contributed this photo of her Mike and their two cats Ellie (official name: Eleanor) and Ernie (full name: Ernesto) says, “Any man is much sexier when he has and likes cats.” Of course!!

She also says, “Mike, like myself, has always been owned by cats, and usually that has been more than one or two. I’m also lucky to have been cat owned by most of my life. These guys, Ellie (right on this picture) and Ernie (left) are our lovely current owners. We were adopted by them via a local rescue association (Austin Pets Alive), and after seeing a few cats these ones stole our hearts. Ernie was born with cataracts, so his eyes look sometimes very gray and he doesn’t seem too well, but he is very sweet, and his sister adores and helps him (used to need more guidance when he was smaller). These kitties have never been separate (apart of a few vet episodes) and they definitely are a joy together.”

How lucky these people are to be owned by these cats, right?

Pierre and Splat, Socks, and Nuala

According to his wife, Margs, Pierre is “the kind of man who curls himself around his cats rather than disturb them, and if we’ve run out of their dry food he’ll go out in the middle of a thunderstorm to get more.” Two paws up, Pierre! Margs says there are a lot of pictures of Pierre and the cats snoozing – so take a peek at Pierre and Splat (the oldest cat at 14), Socks (the alpha male), and Nuala (the baby).
Oh, and Margs says Pierre is also “an awesome husband, he is just as caring with the human in his life.”

JR & Milo

JR had always been allergic to cats and claimed not to be a “cat person.” But when he started dating his girlfriend Rachel, she already had one cat, the skittish Wylee. Miraculously, JR was not allergic to him. Rachel loves animals and would have easily adopted lots more, but JR made it clear that he didn’t want Rachel to become “the crazy cat lady” with tons of cats. But in 2008, Rachel and JR were in Brooklyn meeting a potential PUPP client (Rachel is the founder of PUPP; she and JR are both on the board). The client had two cats, and JR made a comment that “Wylee could really use a friend.” Coincidentally, walking back to the subway that night, they found a cute, dirty, crooked-tailed kitten. Rachel says, “He was injured, and the only thing we could do was rescue this poor kitty (we carried him home in an empty Colt 45 box we found at a bodega).  We had no intention of keeping him, but after seeing how affectionate he was and seeing how well he got along with Wylee, we realized we couldn’t let him go.” They named him Milo, and JR – who still pretends sometimes that he’s not a “cat person” (Sorry, JR. I have lots of photo evidence and eyewitness testimony to the contrary) – plays with Milo all the time, and when Milo cuddles with Rachel, JR gets jealous and tries to lure Milo away and over to him!

Phil and Prada

This is Phil and Prada, one of the four cats Phil and Cindy have in their household.

Cindy brought back four cats from Indonesia in 2008 – Prada, Vuitty (both named after famous designers), Abe, and Gila (which means “crazy” in Indonesian). After being rescued from the lives of street cats, these four cats “all now live the life of luxury in our house with many great sleeping spots” according to Cindy. She says Gila is so attached to Phil that she cries at the window when he is outside and will run to greet him when he comes home.

Cindy says she’s thankful that “Phil was generous enough to welcome me into his house with my beautiful Indonesian furniture AND my four cats!” Sounds like he is lucky to have such a wonderful, caring partner who would rescue four cats and give them a great home!