Willy,
really Sweet William, is Top Cat! He's a great big tiger cat, weighing in
at about 17 pounds, who is only dominant with other male cats. With people
he is gentle beyond belief. Nothing could provoke this feline to
scratch. He came to us as a stray who was dining nightly at a friend's
house. She was going out of town for 2 weeks and was afraid Willie would
starve to death during her absence so she persuaded us to trap and
relocate him to our household. That was 15 years ago and Willie is still
with us, thank goodness. He's definitely one of my favorites. 
My
sweet, gentle boy crossed the Rainbow Bridge on June 24, 2005.
Daisy
is our fourteenth addition. She was a stray who found her way to my daughter
Becky's house out in Gordonsville about 6 years ago and Becky is a softie
like her mother. So Becky took her in, had her spayed and immunized and
tried to make a home for her. However, Daisy just couldn't get along with
the other cats in the family so she found herself living mainly outdoors.
When Becky and Huffy moved to Vienna last January we kept their cats while they
got situated in their new house. And during the months that Daisy resided
with us, we fell in love with her. The idea of her having to live outside
and fight traffic, weather, etc. was just not acceptable. So we
applied to adopt Daisy and were approved. That brought our cat population
up to 13 and we have never regretted it for a minute.
Callie
is the newest addition to the Bergman cattery. She found us when we were
vacationing at a dude ranch in NC and, as expected, returned to Virginia to join
our family. When we first arrived at the ranch Callie was sleeping outside
the door of the neighboring cabin. The previous guests in that unit must
have fed her because she hung around the same place until my little dudes
noticed her and offered love and, more importantly, food! Then she hung
around our door. When the vacation was over and it was time to depart we
found it impossible to leave her to the mercy of the next cabin occupants. So
Callie was boxed up and loaded on my plane for a short hop to Virginia.
She made the trip like a seasoned flier. After several visits to the vet
for shots, worming, spaying etc. little Callie settled in to the routine of
a permanent house kitty. Today she's very fat and extremely
happy.
Spanky
started out in our house as a foster kitty from the local Humane Society but
that didn't last long. Within a few short days I had decided that she
needed a permanent home and it should be with us. Spanky is the Rhea
Pearlman of the cat world, small and scrappy. Her housemates pick on her
because she's a pint sized kitty but what she lacks in stature she makes up for
in moxie. Nobody pushes her around! However, where people are concerned she's a
sweetie. And there just isn't such a thing as too much petting.
