Tennessee's Home page

This is a big, loveable bear of a cat. He first began to appear at the evening feedings in the winter of 2001. We suspected from the start that he was a stray, rather than feral, because he was, at that time, too big and well fed-looking to have been born and grown up outside. He was quite aggressive as a tomcat, and not long after he first turned up, all the other feral tomcats (including volya) became very scarce. Tennessee-lap cat extraordinaire
Tennessee on counter So aggressive that he was a problem. I had to chase him away from my back door with a broom one night. He tried to bite April. He'd get into fights with my indoor cats through the windows at night. Plans to trap him and have him neutered (and hopefully mellowed out) in the summer of 2001 were put on hold when I became unemployed. However, come September 13, 2001, something had to be done, and Mr. Tuxedo walked into the trap.
After his trip to the vet, I held him in my holding cage for a few days, to let him recover, and to try and find a shelter or foster home that would take him. Without success. On the fifth day, I opened the cage to let him go. By that time he didn't want to leave. He finally did, but when he came back after that he was a changed cat. April decided to take him in, and about a week after being released I opened the door of the cage, gave him a slight nudge, and he walked right back in. Tennessee lounging
A sad and skinny moggy What had been a huge cat, when he first showed up, was pretty bedraggled six months later. The hard life outside had taken it's toll. Tennessee had severe gastro-intestinal problems, caused by bad diet, worms, and infection. He was not entirely cleared up until well into January of the following year. This picture was taken during the unsuccessful attempt to have him live at April's apartment, during November and December of 2001. You can see how skinny he is, compared to the other pictures here.
Tennessee, by the way, is named after a famous celebrity, due to my misunderstanding as to what constitutes 'tuxedo' coloration in a cat. For a proper interpretation of a 'tuxedo' color scheme, see Saki. Tennessee lounging
Tennessee and Daniel Tennesse (or TN) is very much a people cat. He must have been very unhappy as a stray. He's an ultimate lap cat. Here he protects me against a sudden failure of Earth's gravitational field.
And here he does the same for April. Tennessee and April
Tennessee on desk This is my desk... and possibly one reason I don't get more done.