Big Orange Cat, Dax

I am Dax, the orange cat and the only Tomcat that lives on Hummingbird Hill. I am surrounded by females. My bud, 2nd Chance the dog, is the only other male.

The females, Blaze, Star Noir and Pepper have been writing quite a bit and some of the things about me are not very complimentary. It is time that I told my side. My human Mom wrote about my young life as a really cute kitten. Now that I weigh about 20 pounds (solid muscle, no fat), it's a little embarrassing to see my baby pictures plastered all over the net. This is my story as an adult cat, told by me, Dax the big, handsome, orange felis catus.

For those of you who haven't read my "baby" page, here is a brief history. My name means "by the water". It was chosen by my humans because my feline mother was found on an abandoned boat in Venice, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. She was pregnant with me and 4 others when she jumped into a boat captain's arms. He brought us to his friend Dr. Rusty, the vet and we were born in the clinic a couple of weeks later.

They also like the name because they are big Star Trek fans and think the symbiont thing of Judsia Dax relates to Amphitrite, an old female that they had, who died a month before I was born. She came from Venice, LA, too. It's kind of creepy, really and I'm nothing like her. Blaze told me how cranky and quick to swat she was.

Well enough about my kittenhood. These days I enjoy chasing the females and laying in wait to ambush them.... What do you mean that's what I did when I was a kitten?

Now that Star Noir is here, it's much more fun. She gives as good as she gets and will often chase me back. Blaze just screams and hisses and tells on me if I disturb her sleep. She's such a tattletail.

New little Pepper is still a mystery to me. The humans are keeping her separate from us except when they can be near. I like her, but she usually keeps her distance. I first met her when I played my run outside and hide from the woman game. She was living on the front porch and she came up and touched noses with me. It startled me, because I first thought she was Star Noir, but I didn't recognize her scent, so I continued on my way rapidly and I hissed a little. Another time we met again and had a quiet staring contest. She was the one who ran that time. She couldn't take the Dax stare for long!

That screened porch in the back that human Mom and the other man built is great! Star Noir and I go out and sit in the sun for hours watching the birds, insects and squirrels. Sometimes lizards and skinks come in under the door and I get to play with them. They are hard to catch and when I do, if the woman sees me, she tells me, NO. What's with her? They are prey and when their tails break off they wiggle.

At night, when everyone is asleep, I go out there to watch the night animals. I see raccoons, rabbits, owls, deer, possums and mice.

Sometimes larger animals come by that don't look friendly, so I go inside through the little swinging door. Look below to see some of those night animals.

My favorite place in winter, when they build a fire in the fireplace is curled up between the big pillows. If it's not too cold, then the couch is nice because they have soft covers. Another good place is in the soft, round bed under the little table in front of the couch.

I also like to sit in the sunny window in the room with all the windows. There are lots of birds there and squirrels. Sometimes I sit right under the feeder thing that hangs right next to the glass. I can almost touch them, but the glass keeps me away.

Most of my furry mice have hidden under the furniture and I need more! A frolicsome cat always needs more mice.

Running water tastes so good. I don't like to drink from bowls unless I have no choice. The humans are pretty good about turning on the water for me, but sometimes I have to communicate with them when they aren't paying attention. If we are near a sink, then I just jump up and parade back and forth. If they are at the sink I rub my head on them. They really like that. But sometimes my Mom is sitting in my chair looking at the box with lights and so I have to talk to her and say Ma-worr-warrr. She's so clever that she usually understands!

They also got me my own water fountain which is good when they are not there, but the water from the sink tastes better.

If you can't get your humans to turn on and off the water facet, then this is the next best thing.

Since the female cats are such ninnies and don't want to prowl around at night (they need their beauty sleep), I stay in the den with the dog. We get along well and I get to go out on the screen porch, so I like this arrangement.

You know, no matter what season it is, we all have a pretty good life here on hummingbird hill. We have plenty to eat and drink and comfortable places to sleep. The man and woman get lots of toys for us. I like to play with mine in the bathtub. The woman says I sound like I'm skateboarding (whatever that is) when I'm playing in there.

I just wish they would let me go outside more often so I wouldn't have to sneak out whenever I get the chance. I really like it when she plays tag with me and I usually come to her eventually.

All in all, I guess I'm lucky to have been adopted by the couple on Hummingbird Hill, but some of our kind and those of my dog friends aren't so lucky. That's why we are donating the proceeds from this page to the Humane Society. Maybe you'd like to donate a little, too.