# Instruments and Equipment > Videos, Pictures & Sound Files >  How many cats fit in a mandolin case?

## Bill James

Five is possible but a bit crowded.

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## Bill James

Four is purrrrfect!

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## JEStanek

Bill, how cold do you keep your shop?  If my 4 cats were that close it would have to be darned cold or the fur would start flying.  They start with the Ford vs Chevy thing then move to WSM vs Thile then all hell breaks loose.

Jamie

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## Ivan Kelsall

Mmmmmmm! - Fur-lined Mando. cases - now there's a thought.  Russell (my cat), come here right now !. No,too small,
                           Saska  :Grin:

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## Hans

Bill, you're a genius...how do you manage to herd cats?

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## Bill James

_"Bill, you're a genius...how do you manage to herd cats?"_

It's easy, just yell, "last one in the case is going to the vet!"

This particular gang lives in the barn and had never seen a mandolin case before, they were in it in five seconds flat. There was a couple of punches thrown, nothing serious just little jabs but that was when "Tex" decided to leave. He's the odd man out since the other four are mom, dad, brother, and sister. Truth is he's the head honcho and if he really wanted the case, he'd get it.

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## mando-red

Bill, you are a man after my own heart!  I am assuming these are your cats.  Cute picture!

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## Dragonflyeye

Very cute, Bill.  Reminds me to close my case!  

It sure looks though, that those barn cats are craving a nice, warm, fake-fur lined cat bed, big enough for all, including Tex.  An old tub would work, with a beat-up bed pillow or two in the bottom, and a hunk of fake fur fabric thrown over the whole thing.  

Our spoiled indoor-outdoor kitty (Boxcar) Willie has 3-4 fake-fur lined beds scattered around the house.  At this time of year, in Wisconsin, he's usually in one of them.

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## Steven Stone

I think that we should send Bill our old mando cases for his cats so they can each have their own case. :Grin:

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## JGWoods

The question is: How many mandolins can you fit in a cat case?

(hope none of'em "marked" the case)

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## mandopete

Serious L.O.L. !

Now I can has cheezeburger?

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## bagpipe

> Serious L.O.L. !
> 
> Now I can has cheezeburger?


Great job. I love icanhascheezburger.  :Laughing:

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## man dough nollij

> Great job. I love icanhascheezburger.


We both know I'm training to be a cage fighter. Gosh!

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## SternART

I've got a Maine Coon that would fill the case himself.

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## man dough nollij

I'm catless, since I adopted out my latest cat, Chuck when deploying to the ice. I would like my next cat (when and if I settle down) to be a Norwegian Forest Cat. A grown up one could definitely fill a mando case.

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## Dale Ludewig

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas..............

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## herbsandspices

Bill,
Awesome pic!
My cat gets into any instrument case, the second it opens.
john

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## bagpipe

> We both know I'm training to be a cage fighter. Gosh!


best.movie.ever:

"You know, like nunchuk skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills."

I guess mandolin playing would count as mad skills ?  :Mandosmiley:

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## man dough nollij

I caught you a delicious bass.

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## JEStanek

You need to share with the kitties.

Jamie

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## MandoNicity

Kitties in a case, put a big old smile on my face.   :Laughing:

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## D Sears

Very cute.  I can't keep mine away from my cases.

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## Rick Schmidlin

My Cat Gurthie wants to come over and play. :Mandosmiley:

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## Bill James

_"My Cat Guthrie wants to come over and play."_

He'll have to bring his own case, old Tex staked his claim and moved his stuff in last night.  He gave me the evil eye for even thinking about it and you don't mess with Tex!

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## mandopete

A cat with his own chainsaw?  That's serious!

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## man dough nollij

> A cat with his own chainsaw?  That's serious!



They can be quite creative, especially with gigantic pumpkins.

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## des mando

i almost went on a rant about safety issues with cats and chain saws before i noticed the safety glasses

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## JEStanek

Cool and K/D!  (From Jamie's wife - The Vet!)  You're feeding the barn cats rather well.  I guess the operative word is "Old" Tex.

Thanks for the smiles!

Doc Shannon

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## Sean Greer

Here's a pic of one my cats, Sophia, hanging out in my case while I play.  If shes' not outside, she's either in the case or on my lap while I play.

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## Bill James

She reminds me of the late, great Harley.  My companion of 20 years and the best cat ever!

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## Sean Greer

What a cutie!  They certainly share their lovely colorings.  This is my first calico and she is a handful, in a good way.  Super talkative, extremely high energy, but also a very loving cat.  I can only hope that I'll be blessed with her for 20 years, as you were with Harley.

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## Ted Eschliman

Mine's handy with tools, too...

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## violmando

Hey, Ted, my car could use some work--do you hire your cat out? What's the hourly rate?  My two don't do much--I'm lucky if I can get Bennie to unload the groceries and that's only because it involves FOOD!  Yvonne

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## craigw

Hey Bill, this is Whitley our Maine Coon mix. She's been posted before but I had to put her up again since she looks a lot like your Harley. She goes everywhere with us in our motorhome so if we're ever up for a visit you can meet her in (cat) person.

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## janprimus

I want to see you shut the case. ;-)

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## craigw

"I want to see you shut the case. ;-) 
__________________
Chad Petersen
Wholly Man"
And live to tell about it?

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## indjournal

I'm glad no one was evil enough to mention anything about future strings.
 :Wink:

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## Jason Kessler

What's the matter, indjournal?  Cat gut your tongue?

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## Tom C

No hate mails please....
I don't need a case to carry my cat in......

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## Steve Hinde

Must be a long coooold winter up der in Minnesoooota. The cats is tryin to stay warm don't ya no.
My cats drop in the shop to use da box. I have to keep the cases in a separate room. At least they don't try to bury me too. (Only if i'm pickin)
How do you keep da fur outta da F holes?
They don't sharpen their claws on the strings do they? May have to get a recording of that. All the dogs in the neighborhood may start to howl.
Maybe you could start a string band.

Steve

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## Lee Callicutt

Does a gig bag count?  His name is Butters, and he's grounded, mister!

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## karlssoni

I'm new to the mandolin, but whenever I see cats in a house, I'm always careful to avoid surprises by keeping my banjo case closed.

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## Meadowview

Looks like there may be a need for for a Dr. Dobson's cat carrier---------

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## Joe Dodson

My cat wanted me to revive this thread.

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## Joel Spaulding

We visited some friends in  Lexington recently. Within five minutes of opening the case ....

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## Shelagh Moore

My cat went to sleep in my mandolin case and I inadvertently shut the lid. An hour and a half later I opened it again and there he was... still asleep inside!

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## Womandolin

> My cat wanted me to revive this thread.


Aww.. that is adorable!

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## Womandolin

My case doesn't unzip all the way, so kitties stay out of it. But they sure like to hang around while I play. This one is Daphne. 

Don't mind the scotch tape on my mandolin.. the strings buzz without it.

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## jefflester

> My cat wanted me to revive this thread.


Though we should really revive this thread and combine with the one we are in now.

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## Capt. E

My cat would probably sit in my case with his latest victim in his jaws. Yesterday it was a lizard.

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## Jerry Haynes

Reading the kitty stories, thought I'd share one.    Went to a friends house one night...he has 3 cats.  Another friend shows up with a new martin guitar and new case.    Played a few songs and then I happened to notice one of the cats in the new guitar case..  then I pointed out to the case owner that the cat was in the peeing position.   Yes, he dropped about a pint !  Everybody  had big time over it, laughed till we hurt.  The case owner didn't laugh a bit!   Still laugh about it now... Months later , after much cleaning, the case still smelled like cat pee.

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## Jake Wildwood

Our cat Terrapin comes out every Saturday morning to the little group session here in the store (we live attached to the store) and he rotates from case to case as we play.

Awesome photos, by the way!

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## billkilpatrick

a client of ours - a rabbi - has the following pinned to his notice board:

"ye shall have dominion over all the animals of the world ... except cats."

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## SternART

Maybe only one Maine Coon.

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## sgarrity

Now that's a CAT!

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## JEStanek

That's not a cat... That's Liono of the Thunder Cat's I think!  Wow, Arthur.  I can't wait to show that cat to my wife.

Jamie

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## SternART

The gentle giants of domestic cats......of course several Maine Coon kittens could fit in a case.

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## jeff mercer

SternART,

My God, that's incredible ! Never seen a Maine Coon cat before..are they all that big, or is your puss a particulary large specimen ?

Name ?  Disposition ?

On the complete opposite side of the size spectrum, our cat sam fits in my ukulele case !

If anyone is still looking for a name for a new moggy, how about Lloyd Claw ?

 :Smile:

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## Bill Snyder

Read up about the above _huge_ cat here.

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## man dough nollij

> Read up about the above _huge_ cat here.



I knew I had seen that picture online before.

My thoughts were:

1) Wow! That's a very attractive woman.

2) I notice she is holding a large cat. 


I think that cat may actually be a Norwegian Forest Cat, which are even bigger than Maine Coons. I'd like to get one when I get back to the real world. 

Mandolin content: Should we start a "Women With Mondocats" thread?

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## delsbrother

I have a wedgie.



It's not that big.

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## D.E.Williams

Typically, Wegies (not wedgies) aren't usually quite as big as a Maine Coon, but close.  Depends on the parentage.  If you want to see a breed that is really big for a cat, try looking at a Siberian Cat.  Although they have come down in size in recent years, when first brought into the U.S., it wasn't uncommon for males to reach 30+ pounds.  Now, they seem to range around the same size as a Maine Coon, or even smaller depending on the breeder.

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## delsbrother

> Wegies (not wedgies)


You haven't seen mine.

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## SternART

I ran across that orange Maine Coon photo, it was sent to me by mandolinist Becky Smith, who lives in Idaho.

Mine aren't quite as big, but still gentle giants.  Here is Baxter, easily fills a mandolin case, with some hanging out.

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## billkilpatrick

> Maybe only one Maine Coon.


now post the photo of the cat holding her ...

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## D.E.Williams

> you haven't seen mine.


rofl

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## Ivan Kelsall

Maine Coon cats are notably heavier that what we'd call a 'standard' sized cat. It's not unusual to have male cats weighing in at 20 lbs or over with females at slightly less,as against a fairly 'standard' 7 lbs or so for a normal sized domestic cat - whatever breed, i love cats.
My own 1 year old 'tabby & white' mixed breed cat Russell, has been with me & my wife now for 
8 months & he's just an incredible little soul,we're very luck to have him,
                                                                                                Saska :Wink:

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## D.E.Williams

I'm a big cat person too... here's my cat DK (Don's Kitty).  He's a Scottish Fold, and was recently on Animal Planet with his buddies Wally, Mikey and Duncan, in the first episode of 'Cats 101'.  I hope to get a picture of him in a mando case one of these days.

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## SternART

Kinda looks like DK was listening to your mandolin playing! Possibly you were playing some Dawg tunes   :Laughing: 
(I know....I know, but too good of a set up to pass on)   :Wink:

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## D.E.Williams

LOL...yeah, kinda looks like his ears are reacting to some sort of scratchin'.

 :Laughing:

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## JGWoods

> Maybe only one Maine Coon.


We have his brother!

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## herbsandspices

Does a banjo case count?



That's my guy Oatie - he's a big ol' bear, with a cute little "lucky eye" on his left. And if there's an instrument being played, he's either on your lap, or in its case.

 :Mandosmiley:  john

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## Mike Bromley

Well, not all three of mine.  Or at least when I'm looking.

Prickles appears to be saying: "you want us to WHAT?"  while Brother Burdock in the middle snoozes.  Sister Velcro doesn't reveal her thoughts very often.  That was when they were kittens, now, on the right, during mandolin practice.

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## Stephanie Reiser

_Best I could do was my cat in a mando/fiddle case._

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## Life Is Good

Wonderful Kitties! Their contentment is contagious!

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## Chris Biorkman

Depends. Are we talking about live or dead cats? Just kidding. 

I don't really have much against cats, aside from the fact that being around one causes my throat to close up and makes me feel like I'm going to die. Other than that, they're pretty cool I guess.

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## Life Is Good

When I was a kid I asked my parents for a dog everyday for about two years until one day I came home from school and we had a dog. I enjoyed it for about two weeks until the dog was taken back because my Mom was allergic. About four years ago we adopted a cat that the neighbors had rescued who has a pure and gentle spirit. This cat is always in a good mood and very sweet, not an aggressive attention seeker. They are not all the same but many are good in my experience. Mine is exceptional...

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## Ivan Kelsall

I told him *'stay out of the fridge !!!!!*' - some cats never learn,
                                                                                                   Ivan  :Grin:

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## Tina MBee

took forever for me to get johnduffey in my case. he's a weird cat - doesn't get in boxes, or bags. he seemed to like this old case though

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## Chris Keth

You can fit a lot more cats in a case if you chop them up first. It's a more efficient use of the space.

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## SternART

:Disbelief:

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## Chris Keth

> 



I was just sayin'... :Laughing:

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## CelticDude

> You can fit a lot more cats in a case if you chop them up first. It's a more efficient use of the space.


Probably true of mandolins as well, if efficiency is what you're after...

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## Chris Keth

> Probably true of mandolins as well, if efficiency is what you're after...


True, the volume of a mandolin is mostly empty space. Maybe the guy who smashed up BM's F5 was just trying to show him how to be space efficient. :Laughing:

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## JEStanek

I think the story on WSM's was it was a spurned lover who wasn't interested in efficiency.  Picking on Cats in this thread is like picking on WSM in the Bluegrass forum...

Jamie

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## Chris Keth

> I think the story on WSM's was it was a spurned lover who wasn't interested in efficiency.  Picking on Cats in this thread is like picking on WSM in the Bluegrass forum...
> 
> Jamie


I see that. All semblance of humor is completely lost here. :Confused:

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## TerryBurnsKing

Just one.

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## JEStanek

No lack of humor.  People just love their pets.  For many people, their pet is family (whatever the animal, often loved more than blood relatives  :Wink:  ).  My wife is a vet.  No worries.

Jamie

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## Hans

Our Willie cat went stone blind a few weeks ago and had to be put down. Sunday we picked up Tiggs, a Maine Coon mix at the Humane Society...
Doesn't exactly fit in a mandolin case but does well in a large mandola case...



I have to say that this is the friendliest cat I've ever come across...
No wonder they call them "dogs in cat's clothing"!  :Smile:

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## AlanN

And is seeming to say

"If yer lookin fer the mandolin, you gotta go through me"

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## JEStanek

Beautiful rescued cat, Hans.  Sorry about Willie.

Jamie

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## 300win

I don't know but mine is lying in my guitar case sleeping right now. I think she likes the banjo most of all, the "round mattress" is more to her liking.

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## D.E.Williams

Very sorry about Willie...been there so many times myself.  Glad you got Tiggs!  MC's really are nice cats.

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## Bill James

R.I.P. Willie, he was a good one.

Tiggs is a handsome (and lucky) little bugger, looks like he's already claimed you, your case, your house and everything in it.....etc., etc.

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## Hans

Thanks guys, as you all know it's very hard to put an animal down. Poor Willie had diabetes, kidney problems, had to be hydrated twice a day and recently developed cancer before he went blind. That broke me.
We had another cat from the shelter for a couple of weeks, but she just kept running away and we're getting too old to comb the neighborhood for cats. I had to take her back. That wasn't easy either. 
Tiggs came from a family that had to surrender 2 Maine Coons as their home was forclosed on. He came home with us and got it all figured out within an hour.
Thank God for the Animal Humane Society. It was heartwarming to see so many people there on Sunday when they opened.

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## 300win

Hans sorry about your loss. Yes it hurts deeply when a good buddy dies. I've had my share of it this past month. Yesr before last me and the wife had to put down our beloved "Emmy-cat". She had lived to the age of 16, and had very poor health there at the last. We got a new kitten "Callie" later on that same year, she has filled the empty place in our hearts. Very differant personality, but a sweet cat. This past month I have had a good friend "Jack" get hit by a car, he was our oldest son's dog, who is a Marine and could not take care of him anymore because of deployments and change of duty stations. We both grew very fond of him and I cried like a baby the day he got killed. Also this past month, my wife's sister had a horse "Doc" that I've been looking after since January, that had to be put down because of illness. It has been a sad last 5 weeks. I just wrote a song yesterday in honor of them and all the rest of the fine friends we've had in all our years and named it "Ol' Buddy". There is no love like the love a pet gives you, and it really hurts when they leave.

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## D.E.Williams

> There is no love like the love a pet gives you, and it really hurts when they leave.


So true...so very true.  I'm deeply sorry for your losses.

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## SternART

Tiggs probably wouldn't mind if his new nickname became Willieboy......or in his "case" Mr. Willieboy!

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## Hans

Arthur, he was probably named by children in the old family (Tigger). I thought hard about changing it, but he readily recognizes the name, so Tiggs it is. We just nicknamed him "Beeg Guy" from Lucas Haas in "Witness".
That's a great MC you have there!

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## SternART

Here's my Lil' Maggie.........another Coon cat........with killer ears!
I figured I needed at least as many Maine Coons as mandolins!

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## Kerry Krishna

Hans, I am sso sorry to hear about you cat. Family members dieing like this  after  15 or so years is expected, but always a shock. Your new cat thanks you also for bringing it home! I think Willy would be very happy knowing you did this... Kerry K

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## Hans

Arthur that is a stunning cat...I keep going back to the pix!
Kerry, Willie was 15, and we knew it was coming for a long time. The blindness came on very quick though, and that got to me.
Maureen had Stanley before Willie and he was 23 before we had to put him down. We are very happy to have found Tiggs...

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## Portel

30, as long as the cats are small enough

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## Frank Silver

.. I've posted many a cat in a case .. here's our Maine Coon , sans case this time.

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## SternART

Another nice Coon cat there Frank !!!  Here is a rare black-smoke Maine Coon.  Hairs are white for the first half inch & then turn black. He kinda shimmered when he walked......ol' Barkley Boy.

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## John Ritchhart

You're a good man, Hans.

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## Frank Silver

Art,

That black-boy is a hoot, thanks.  I'd like to see him sometime up at your shop.

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## SternART

Frank...........Unfortunately ol' Barkley Boy is visiting with Han's Willie............up in kitty heaven.
He was a special Cooneyboy.......hell of a cat......three others still here at the studio......they are nice enough to let me share it with them......

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