The shelter people say she's almost 10, and had to be surrendered by her last people. They had a lot of trouble getting her adopted (until I showed up). Everything in our home must be inspected, and apparently we're both incompetent to People because we must be closely supervised at all occasions.
Pictures here: Say hello to Empress.

LOL, someone who uses a princess for an avatar adopts an Empress.
Good for you. Hope you two have a grand time together. Just watch out for stray hairs in you paint jobs.

Jessie,
Congratulations! She’s a cutie. I have three helpers, but of a different species altogether. They seldom jump up on the workbench, but they’ve been known to jump on the chair next to the bench and beg for kibble if I don’t pay attention. At least you don’t have to take a break to walk this one like I do with my “helpers”.
VR, Russ

Hi Jessie and Empress!

Your little Empress is GORGEOUS! She's a real CUTIE! My Babie is also a Black & White American Short-hair. She has very pale Jade eyes and just a tad more White in her upper-body colors. She has White undersides and she's pretty mischievous! Babie has the same cute little "clown-face" as your Empress!

My Bunnie is a Maine Coon, and she's tremendous! She's a beautiful cat, and she loves to climb up and park herself on my shoulders- Usually when I'M BUSY!!! Bunnie has Golden-Olive eyes. Bunnie is Black along her entire spine right to the tip of her bushy tail. She is two-toned Brown "tiger-striped" along her flanks which morphs into a pale Grayish Beige and Off-White belly. Her face is Black and Orange "tabby-style", with very pale Beige highlights and when she has her whiskers aligned just right, they are about 9-inches long from end to end. Her "lion's ruff" is gigantic, and she has the typical Maine Coon's tufts at the tips of her ears and the "M" on her forehead. She has the sweetest nature- Except when Babie riles her up, but Bunnie is definitely the more timid of my cats. If she hears someone walking up my wheelchair ramp, she will run and hide somewhere. She will NOT come out of hiding until the "stranger" has been gone for at LEAST a half-hour. Bunnie is the more affectionate of the two, but Babie can also be a little doll...

I adopted both of my two girls about 4 years ago from an animal rescue shelter when they were just little kittens. I spoil them rotten!!!

Mostly, Babie and Bunnie are pals; they will sleep and allo-groom each other but this last week, they've been fighting, so I've had to keep them separated. This has happened once before, about a month or so ago. Hopefully, they'll get over their animosity and they'll become "partners-in-crime" again, soon!

I keep both cats OUT of my workshop, which is a separate room, altogether- Otherwise, UTTER CHAOS would reign!

The Best of Luck to you with Empress!

VR, Dennis

Hi Jessie and Empress

Black and white American short hairs rule (at least mine thinks so!)

Hi Jessie. she is beautiful!! although she looks a lot younger that 10. i have a furry helper too-Lizzie. i had two until recently when i lost my best friend of 17 years- Johnny, aka-Johnny Reb. he was named after the confederate soldiers nickname since i found him as a stray kitten in Richmond Virgina. lizzie i found as a stray one night coming out from dinner one night in Elizabeth NJ, hence the name lizzie. neither gave me a problem of "close inspection" of my work like Tim there but they did keep my basement work area clear of mice for me. mine are/were both tiger pattern grey/blk short hair ASHT. always wanted an all grey one though. she's a cutie and i am sure she will take good care of you-lol enjoy joe

Jessie and you think you have issues. A night with this lot and catnip leaves your legs looking like Freddie Kruger is the next door neighbour.

The cat trap is working

Thank you all for your replies and the pictures of your helpers. We need threads like these to help with the stress and uncertainty of life.

Last August my niece brought me a kitten with markings a lot like your new buddy. She was barely 3 weeks old, the mother killed by coyotes. Now she runs the house, has the two old toms under her control and is into everything. She has figured out how to turn on light switches, if she can reach them, she has figured out how to turn on the phones, computers and my tablet. If I'm in the tool room working on the bench she is watching everything I do her little head following every move. When I'm on my model bench she's into everything. It takes about an hour for her to get bored and leave me alone to build in peace. I've had to modify my desk a bit because of her. All my sharp tools are now put into a drawer so she can't hurt someone with them. She is a monster. And that is her name. If she had thumbs I'd have to hide my truck keys, firearms and matches.

Hi Jessie,

Welcome, Empress! What a beauty! I really miss my cats. But family is very allergic to them. Thanks Jessica for starting this cat trap, and to the rest of you for posting. Here's Willy (not named for Messerschmitt) inspecting my ME 262.

Absolutely charming! A beautiful cat!

Here's Earl, who of the four we have, chose me as his BFF for the last 12 years. My bedspread is his natural habitat, and he's such a talker my wife and I call him "The Speaker of the House."

Hi, Tim!

That photo is hilarious, with your cat "sacked-out" in your REVELL USS Olympia box!!!

VR, Dennis

Hi, Brian!

"Speaker of the House"!!! THAT'S FUNNY!!!

My two, Bunnie and Babie, are great "conversationalists", as well!!!

VR, Dennis

HOLY CATS, Patrick!!!

Sounds like you have your hands full!!! If I didn't keep my workshop locked, my two "GANGSTERS" would wreak havoc!!! I love 'em both!

VR, Dennis

Hi, Darren!

My GOODNESS!!! How do you manage them all..?

VR, Dennis

Those are wonderful kitties, Darren! The photos show them off beautifully. Such personalities.

You “cat people” haven’t cornered the market on cuteness though. I have a dog that begs for hours like a prairie dog. And will play fetch or keep away with a tennis ball till they drop over. And if I drop anything on the floor while making a sandwich, I don’t need to worry about cleaning it up! Plus they don’t have any interest in jumping on my workbench while I’m the middle of rigging a 1/72 SPAD! My neighbors all have cats, but they are always posting “missing cat” signs— I keep telling them the Coyotes know where their cats are. I know that’s a bit harsh, but I grew up only with indoor cats, and cats left outdoors usually have shorter lifespans. Take care of them.
VR, Russ

Ours are indoors for that very reason. Coyotes are thicker up here than bugs on a bumper. I had them in my front yard last night and every night for the past several weeks you can hear them in the various H.S. sports fields. If I lived anywhere else up here I'd be making a dent in the population with a shotgun but I live in city limits now within a couple hundred meters of the local grade school and Jr/Sr high. They frown on gun fire near those types of institutions.

HI, ALL!

We have coyotes (despicable creatures that they are) in my neck of the woods, too! That's why ALL of my cats have always been kept STRICTLY INDOORS. Those damned coyotes will think nothing of attacking animals several times their size, and eat them alive... 'Nuff said...

We should strive to keep domestic animals away from wildlife at all costs. And make sure inoculations are up to date. There’s stuff in the “wild” you don't want your pets to get. Most of us are aware of Toxoplasmosis in cats (primarily from birds), but “Raccoon Roundworm” is probably the worst— it’s a zoonotic,(parasite) and not really a “worm” in the normal sense but a microscopic animal that has no effect on Raccoons, but is distributed through berries and seeds passed in their feces, which are then eaten by squirrels and rats which are then eaten by cats (or dogs), and has been known to be transferred to humans, although rarely. There is no cure for it, it affects the brain and results in loss of balance, brain swelling, and eventual death of the animal— animals suffering from this generally appear disoriented or “drunk” making them easy prey. I watch my dogs “like a hawk” when they’re in the yard to keep them from getting any “disoriented” or dead animals like squirrels. Not a modeling topic I know, but since we’re on the subject, I thought I’d share....
VR, Russ

I keep my cat inside as a matter of course but especially since last spring when I saw a red tail hawk pick off a black and white neighborhood cat

And now I have a puppy. Just for the night tho. She belongs to my niece who gave me the kitten back in August. She got a pure bred german shepard for christmas and asked me to dog sit for the night. She's a sweet little pup right now but her paws are HUGE and her ears are as big as her face. She's gonna be a big dog this time next year. BIG dog.

Mine is not new but he likes to clean the work table among other places.