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Following are the pets that have passed on and are very dearly missed. Click on thumbnail photo for larger view.

Boots: 10/1995 - 9/1997. Black with white feet - Boo Boo. Littermate to Joe. Joe and Boots were possibly the sweetest cats that ever lived. Boots was always ill - both kittens battled upper respiratory infections and digestive troubles. Boots rode on our shoulders and played with anybody - even cows. Sadly, as Boo got sicker, he began to wander and we finally lost him to a car. Greatly missed.
Ralph: 1984 - 12/1997. The big white cat (with orange tail and green eyes). Our first white cat. Ralph was raised as a housecat with dogs so he thought he WAS a dog. It was a shock to him to discover cats. Ralphie moved to the barn (at his request) and became a great mouser. He raised several batches of homeless waifs (kittens). His dog-like behavior included sleeping in the middle of the lawn, tackling dogs, responding to a whistle, sitting in the rain to mouse, and mooching for sandwich and donut scraps if you ate a snack outside (if your average dog would eat it, so would Ralph). Irreplaceable.
Rudy: 04/1990 - 02/2005. A lovely Himalayan cross, adopted through a local veterinarian. Rudy was brought in to be put to sleep at about age 2, as his elderly owner was going into a nursing home and had no one to take him. Rudy spent 13 years with us. Visitors were always impressed by "the most beautiful cat we've ever seen". A sedate gentleman, Rudy liked to be warm - he spent his time by the fire or sleeping in the sunbeams through the windows. Still and always the "#1 cat".
Angel: 04/1998 - 02/2007. Found starving in Bremerton at about 6 months. Almost totally deaf. Angel could hear certain pitches, but had no stereo - she couldn't tell what direction noise came from. Became very spoiled and chubby. Angel was near-sighted and sometimes fell off the couch or "missed" when trying to make it onto the bed or window seats. Angel liked anything shiny - especially package bows. She also liked to play in the water bowl. Angel was a packrat, stealing shiny things and toting them off behind the bed.
Joe: 10/1995 - 2/2007. Scooped up and adopted with brother Boots from a farm where the cats ran wild and were sickly/ in-bred. Joe never grew up. He would play all day, and come at a run when called. He begged to be picked up by standing on your shoes with front paws on your knees. We called him Velcro because once you picked him up, he was stuck to you. He would cling to your neck, your clothes, etc., purring all the while like an outboard motor. As fast as you got one paw off he reattached. His greatest joy in life was being packed around. We had to take pity on visitors and peal him off. Joe was positive that EVERYONE loved him. And everyone did.
Spider: 5/1994 - 7/2007. Huge orange male cat with extra toes in front (polydactyl). Full of personality. His front feet were like "hands" to open doors, pick up pencils, etc. Rescued as a stray from an Indian reservation, Spider started life as a barn cat. After a tangle with a car and then with a coyote, Spider had expensive hip surgery and moved into the house. Spider worked very hard at being busy and helped with everything. He was buddies with Angel and Prince, acting as their "hearing ear" cat. Spider liked everybody - people, dogs and cats.
Turtle: 2/1999 - 2/2008. An unusual tortishell - all bronze, black and gray. She did not look much like her littermate Taz. But they shared the same loving disposition. Turtle & Taz were adopted from an Indian reservation. Turtle never strayed far - mostly just around the barns to mouse or catch some rays, sometime s "camping out" in the hay over night. She always liked to be warm. She was totally sweet and adorable, and also a good mouser. Turtle was very very shy so strangers never saw her. Loving and so sweet. Very much missed.
Bernard. 3/1997 - 10/2008. An Anatolian Shepherd. A giant of a dog in every way - a big dog with a heart and soul to match. In his prime he weighed 157 pounds. Bernard possessed every good quality - courage, good sense, hard working, sweet disposition, steady friendship. He was the brave defender of his home, loved ones, cats and cattle. A cherished and loving friend to his people. Bernard had a way of knowing when people were "good or bad" and acted accordingly. An impressive dog in every way, and loved so much. There will never be another Bernard. Always the best dog ever.
Kris: 3/2005 - 12/2010. Adopted October 2007. Orange manx with neurological problems, most likely the result of being hit by a car. He had trouble seeing and trouble walking in a straight line. A loving and fun pet nevertheless. Kris played in his own little world like a little kitten. Very fun and very handsome. Dearly missed.
Mango: 6/2008 - 11/2012. Handsome large white deaf male cat with Blue eyes adopted as a result of this website! Mango had a history of health problems. Sadly, after settling in very nicely in his new home for 8 months, Mango passed away quietly in his sleep on the living room sofa one morning. He was a good friend and is missed. Mango's ashes were returned to his first family, but a tree was planted on the farm in his honor.
Missi: 4/2007 - 2/2013 Ex-feral cat, rescued after being hit by a county road mower as a tiny kitten (picked right out of the grass). Her tail was shortened to about 4 inches. She was our smallest cat but very tough. She never hesitated to let everyone know who was boss - cats, dogs or people. In her younger days she would hike to the creek with us (1/4 mile each way). Missi loved coffee (with cream and sugar please). Always a favorite and very much missed.
Mina: 4/97 – 10/2014; Feral calico adopted as abused kitten. Mina was hard of hearing, not 100% deaf. She lived in the barn, and stayed close to Joe until his death in 2006. Theirs was an amazing friendship, with Joe guiding Mina home to the barn every afternoon, and Mina mothering Joe. Mina was a good mouser; she would walk out of the long grass behind the barns with the day’s catch and give it to Joe (who rarely caught anything) then scrub his face because he always got dirty playing and had a lot of white to scrub! After Joe’s death, Mina kept company with Taz, but did not bring Taz mice. Mina was a gentle friend, and had a long happy life.
Raja: 2003 – 10/2014. Lovely odd-eyed white cat (1 blue eye, 1 gold). Adopted in February 2005 from local rescue. Raja was deaf on the blue eye side (left). Her coat was as soft as down. The most gentle of cats, Raja was a happy soul. She carried the same stuffed toys all over the house for years, taking them to bed with her at night. Her interesting habits included eating veggies & fruit (swiss chard, coleslaw, peaches) and watching TV! She watched so often we sent her photo in to KOMO and she was featured on the morning news. See her "star" photos here. Raja was one-of-a-kind, stolen away from us too soon by illness. Unforgettable, sweet girl.
Prince: 1997-2015. Blue-eyed white deaf cat. Elegant pure white Siamese mix, famous for his beauty and for talking constantly at the top of his lungs (he couldn't hear anything, which pretty much proves cats are natural talkers). Prince was a totally feral adult cat of 2-3 years old when adopted in 1999. Taming Prince took YEARS and lots of food (he became quite a moocher). Possibly the cat we worked the hardest with and one of the most rewarding. Prince always depended on male cat friends to feel secure (orange cats Spider, Oscar and Ranger, and black & white Lincoln). He used his feet to drink water, "fish" dry food from the dish, and could return the serve on a ping pong ball like a pro. He had a long life, especially for a cat that began life wild, deaf and fragile. Dearly remembered. What a character.
Cassi: 2002-2017. Yellow-eyed white deaf. Cassi did hear noises at certain pitches - such as oven timers and alarm clocks. We walked into a pet store and spotted her right away; she was depressed, non-responsive to the bustle around her and half-starved. Her coat was terrible so nobody wanted her. We took her to a loving and caring home and were amazed at the speed she adapted to the other cats. She was playful, loving and grateful to be in a forever home. In 2007 she came through surgery to remove large bladder stones. She was very brave through it all. Cassi's page. for more photos. In 2016 she became lethargic and eating less and less food. So, off to the local vet for an exam and blood test. The results were heart breaking. Cassi was diabetic. Treatment was insulin shots twice a day, eating special food, or be euthanized. I headed home with Cassi knowing I had a difficult decision to make. At home, she looked at me and her eyes told me I could not euthanize her as she was such as wonderful pet and she wanted more time in her forever home. Again, she did all that was asked of her: insulin shots and only diabetic food. The insulin helped but by the time we started that treatment her organs were already damaged. In May, 2017 she went to see her creator and find her friends that had preceded her to the heavenly world. Before she left she gave all the current forever friends a nose to nose kiss. I know she left knowing she had had a great forever home for 15 years. She lived longer than any of our other white cats. RIP.
Taz: 1999-2017. Enormous gray male. No photo did justice to the "pearly" shine to his coat - every hair had a "frosted" tip. Taz somehow came up with an "oriental" bow as his greeting: he literally marched up to people (and dogs!) and without bending his knees tapped his head on the ground (between the ears)! As a kitten he used to come at a run and somersault in for a tummy rub. He got too fat for somersaults, but still wanted his tummy rubbed. Taz specialized in climbing trees and fence post sitting (why did the cat climb the post - to sit on the top and purr, of course!). He ran up and down trees like a gray squirrel. A super mouser. Taz passed away in June 2017 at the age of 19. By now he has found his sister (Turtle) and they are busy reducing the mice population. RIP.
Lychee : 05/ 2001–10/2017; Dainty, semi feral, a little mean, Grey female adopted by a Los Angeles family in 2008. She was an indoor/outdoor cat. Thus, she did not lose all of her feral traits. She lived most of her time as an only cat. In 2015, a family member was not feeling well and paid a visit to a doctor. End result, allergic to cats. They made contact with us after finding our website thru Internet searches. After a few emails we agreed to take the cat. She is now, as of July 2015, living as an indoor cat and learning to socialize with our other cats. Quite an adjustment for her, but she is slowly fitting in. She now cuddles up on our lap and falls fast asleep. Older cats can be adopted and become very loving pets. I had a heavy heart with the passing of Lychee as a result of a stroke in 2017. She had turned into a loving cat in the 2 plus years we had her. You just can’t believe what love and patience can do, even in an older cat. RIP
Elsa: 06/2007-05/2018. Lovely, busy tortishell who was close friends with Ranger, Bruiser and her best pal Uncle Oscar. Elsa was an absolute love and tons of fun. Chasing the beam of light shining that came through the glass porch wind chimes on sunny mornings, playing with toy mice - she was a kitten almost to the end. Her amazing black marble coat and bright gold eyes made her a strikingly unusual cat. Elsa was rarely by herself, following her Uncle Oscar just about everywhere, and when she wasn't with him she was with Ranger or Bruiser. Elsa developed an aggressive cancer in the spring of 2018 and passed away at the young age of 11. Fortunately, her illness was short and not painful. She is deeply missed by both her human and kitty friends. RIP sweet girl.