Individuals with a dislike of vanity web pages extolling the glories of domesticated animals should go elsewhere, for that's exactly what this is.
     Below are biographies, descriptions and photographs of the cats currently inhabiting (or perhaps infesting) our household. They are presented in order of age, oldest first.

Quel, late June, 1997. Photograph Copyright © 1997 by Denis Loubet.

Origin of Name:
     An expression of surprise he would affect when caught doing something wrong, prompting remarks like "Quelle surprise!" and "Quelle dommage!"

Nicknames:
      Big Boy, Big Guy.

Born:
     Early June, 1995; celebrated June 5.

Favorite Person In the Household:
     Luray Richmond.

Defining Characteristics:
     An unusual degree of intelligence; extreme cowardice; a disregard for closed doors (if they're not firmly latched, he muscles them open); concern for the wellbeing of the other cats; an intense love of ice water; more sophisticated than normal attempts to communicate.
     Example: One day, as I sat working, Quel repeatedly came into my office and brushed against me to get my attention, which is standard "feed-me" behavior. But when I arose to accompany him downstairs, he led me not to the pantry where the cat food is kept, but to the downstairs bathroom. The bathroom door was shut and another cat, Laytae (now deceased), was inside, yowling to be released. Her cries didn't carry all the way to my office, but Quel apparently thought I should know anyway. Once Laytae was released, Quel cheerfully wandered on to other pursuits.

Origin Story:
     One day in August 1995, my roommate Luray Richmond heard feline cries of distress from outside the house. When she went out to investigate, she saw a tiny kitten with oversized paws and a bite mark injury in its shoulder howling for food. (Of course, that's imprecise writing. Neither his oversized paws nor the bite mark howled for food. But I digress.) It seemed likely that he was from a clan of feral cats that lived down the street, and that he had at least been driven off from his clan by whatever had bitten him.
     Determined to help the kitten, she tried to lure him to her, but he ran. She chased him down and grabbed him, but he twisted and bit her thumb, hanging on like a little bear trap. Eventually she was able to get him loose and get him to the vet's, where he was pronounced more or less healthy, in spite of the fact that the vet determined that he had recently survived by eating insects and soil.
     So we adopted him. He grew at a dramatic rate; five weeks later (mid-September 14, 1995), he weighed five pounds, had no neck (the way football players do), and his paws were still too big for him.
     It appears that, because he was separated at such an early age from his litter, he was incompletely socialized. Though he figured out early how to play with humans (and is amazingly well-behaved as far as claws are concerned), and though he developed an affection for Kittykins, a half-Siamese we had during his first year with us, he never played much with the other cats — the closest he came was dominance behavior toward Laytae. That changed with the arrival of Loki, as described below.
     Perhaps because of his early trauma, he is afraid of anything strange. The hint that someone he doesn't know is approaching will send him running to one of his hiding places. He has learned that when the dog begins sustained barking, people must be coming, so he takes that as another signal to run. I've seen him run from insects of types he hasn't seen before.
     Today, he's well over fifteen pounds (or, as Mark Richmond puts it, "Nine pounds, ninety-six ounces"). His paws are still a little big for his frame, giving him a slightly tigerish aspect.

Quel, early August 1995. Photograph Copyright © 1995 by Mark Richmond.

Loki, May 2003. Photograph Copyright © 2003 by Mark Richmond.

Origin of Name:
     The Norse god of mischief.

Nicknames:
     Demon; Banister Gargoyle.

Born:
     Ca. late October, 1998; celebrated on Hallowe'en.

Favorite Person In the Household:
     Me.

Defining Characteristics:
     Startling levels of stupidity (which, admittedly, have faded as he has matured); a high level of feline diplomacy; an affection for perching on banisters; will play fetch (with certain toys) with a tenacity only previously seen in dogs; loves to walk on handrails 15-20' above hard surfaces.

Origin Story:
     One late night near Thanksgiving 1998, Denis Loubet, while driving home along a stretch of road with a median down the middle, saw something bobbing up and down in the median. Correctly recognizing it as a cat, and not wanting the little thing to be killed by traffic, he pulled over, chased it down, and brought it home.
     We kept the little fellow in the hope that he would become a playmate for Quel (q.v.), who had never really learned to play with his fellows. We got our wish. He constantly attempted to play with Quel, charging at him and then running away, until (after weeks of it) Quel got in the spirit of things and began chasing him around. Today, the two are good buddies and often curl up together to sleep, though Quel often grows weary of Loki's persistent playfulness and has to wander off to be alone.
     In addition, Loki turned out to be a fine diplomat, as cats go. When approaching other cats of the household, when hissed at by them, instead of running away he'd plop down on his stomach and wait them out. They got used to him always being around and accepted him comparatively quickly.
     When he achieved his full growth, Loki became the alpha of the household cats, though he does not/cannot dominate Quel. (Though Quel is part of the household pack, he exists outside the normal dominance hierarchy.)

Loki and Quel, Buddies, January 2000. Photograph Copyright © 2000 by Aaron Allston.

Khem, May 2003. Photograph Copyright © 2003 by Mark Richmond.

Shadow, May 2003. Photograph Copyright © 2003 by Mark Richmond.

Origin of Names:
     Khem is the ancient name of Egypt. For many years, we had a large gray male cat, Ramses, named after Pharaoh Ramses II; Khem superficially resembles the cat Ramses and has been named partly in tribute to him.
     Shadow is so named because she was originally far more cautious than Khem, and prone to hiding behind him; that and her shadowy gray coloration make it a suitable name.

Nicknames:
     Khem: Oaf, Klutz, Little Boy, Plush Toy.
     Shadow: Little Girl; Perv.

Born:
     Ca. mid-August, 2000.

Favorite Person In the Household:
     Khem: Denis Loubet.
     Shadow: None; she likes everybody equally.

Defining Characteristics:
     Khem, the male, is the larger of the two, and has shaggier fur and a fluffier tail. Initially friendlier than his sister upon meeting new people, he swiftly became more cautious. Physically, he is perhaps the clumsiest cat we've ever had; he frequently sits down at the edges of tabletops and falls clean off. We have voted him the Cat Least Likely to Survive in the Wild. He plays often with Loki.
     Shadow, the female, was initially more cautious when meeting new people but quickly became far more bold, and has no fear of other cats. She's a lap cat, but otherwise full of energy, and will not walk if there exists the opportunity to run or leap instead. She's very fond of Quel. She plays occasionally with Loki, but she is his match in speed and grace, and Loki prefers playing with the slower, less competitive Khem. Shadow enjoys being petted like a dog and having her tail pulled, which has led to her nickname of "Perv" (short for "Pervert").

Origin Story:
     Part of a litter whose feline mother and human owner couldn't take care of them (two of their littermates had already died or disappeared), Khem and Shadow were being fed and cared for by a next-door neighbor; the neighbor sought a permanent home for them, and we acquired them in mid-November 2000.