This portion of our Wedding Web Site has been awarded the 
Whiskers Cool Cat Award--The ORIGINAL award
for feline web page excellence, as well as Kiki's
Paw of Excellence, 
another award for feline web pages! Also, check out the end of this page for the story on the newest and most
famous addition to our family, Leon the Miracle Cat.
Actually, at this point, they're more like our kids! Melanie and Rover
came along in October of 1993 at the ages of eight and ten weeks. From the very beginning,
they were little kittens filled with lots of love...and energy! 
But of course, where there is an
action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Where there is ultra-energy, there is
ultra-rest. 
Rover, our buff cat, is famous for his extreme energy, 
total dedication 
and odd
sleep patterns/positions. 
During the
cold winter months, he sleeps right under the down comforter with us. We're not exactly
sure how he does it, but every night he waits for us to go to bed, burrows his way under
the covers, and nestles himself snugly between us. He certainly gets into everything, 
and he actually opens doors and cabinets to get at
those things he wants. 
I
try to yell, but how can you yell at someone this cute 
and mean it?
Rover and his midnight-colored companion, Melanie share an unusual bond. Although they're
not from the same litter, they've been together since day one. 
Melanie is very different than Rover. She is graceful and aloof, the
quintessential lap cat.
Where Rover is
the resident maniac, Melanie balances him with reason and reserve. 
Together, they make the perfect couple.
Our third cat is Pico, a most strikingly beautiful Russian Blue. 
Adopted in August, 1995, Pico has become as much a part of our family as
Melanie and Rover. Never before have we seen a cat that is so sweet and kind. She is
docile and timid, and yet extremely affectionate and friendly. In fact, you have not
petted a cat until you have petted Pico. True to her Russian Blue heritage, her fur is
like stroking the finest of fine silk. It really is a treat. While at first she was
somewhat skittish at being in a new environment, that fear soon melted away...
Day in and day out, you can typically find "the
girls" coffee clotching in the kitchen. 
Now, while not exactly three's company, they do get
along, especially when their attention is drawn elsewhere by a bird or squirrel! 
The fourth, and most recent addition to our family is Leon, the miracle cat. You can read
much more about him below, but here are some more recent pictures of him for those of you
who have been asking. 
Leon has been
doing very well since he's come home. In fact, almost too well! As the vet said,
"He's still go a lot of kitten left in him..." That being the case, this amazing
little three-legged cat just has the grandest time chasing and annoying our other three
cats at all times. As unbelievable as it may seem, Leon has turned into the king of the
roost. He can really motor around! He's been doing so much running and playing that his
one good leg hasn't been able to heal completely (he's got two steel pins in there holding
it together). Still, he does find the time to relax and sleep, which is about the only
time the other cats can stand to be around him! 
Leon is the newest addition to our family. He's now home with us and doing
very well. Here is his story...
While on Long Island visiting Melissa's family for the holidays, we happened upon a young
orange cat lying by the side of the road while we were driving. Since he didn't move out
of harm's way when we honked the horn at him, we knew something wasn't right. We stopped,
and sure enough, he had been hit by a car. He was bleeding from his mouth, he was in
shock, and both of his hind legs and his pelvis had been broken. We very carefully picked
him up and wrapped him in a blanket we happened to have with us. While Melissa got in the
car, I ran to the nearest house to find out if he was their cat. Indeed he was, so I let
them know what had happened, got their telephone number, and told them we'd take him to
the animal hospital down the road in Riverhead.
When we got to the animal hospital, the vet checked the cat and explained his injuries to
us. One of his back legs had a compound fracture so severe that he didn't know if the leg
could be saved. Also, his body temperature was around 90 degrees--that's about 15 degrees
lower than a normal cat's body temperature. They estimated that he had been laying there
for around three hours after he'd been hit. They then called the owners who came to the
hospital. When they arrived, they were brought up to speed on the cat's (then named
Pumpkin) injuries and asked how they would like to proceed. The owners' response was
unbelievable. Not only didn't they want to have the cat operated on, but they also claimed
that they didn't even have the nominal fee to have him euthanized. In essence, they simply
wanted to have him boxed up so they could take him home and "deal with him".
This was unthinkable to us--considering that he would probably either be left for some
extended period to suffer or that they would "deal with him" by killing him, so
we stepped in and offered (insisted) to take responsibility for the cat. With that, the
owners hastily left most likely fearing that our goodwill offer would be rescinded.
So there we were, only minutes before on a leisurely trip to a friend's house, now faced
with the responsibility of deciding this poor animal's fate in the face of a looming
$1000.00+ medical bill. We weren't quite sure what to do, so we decided to at least have
him stabilized until we could make a better decision within the next 24 hours. We drove
home later that day, determined to exhaust every option before having to make a horrible
decision.
When we got home, Melissa immediately contacted Whiskers, a local no-kill animal
shelter specializing in cases such as this. She left an urgent message on their answering
machine which, to our delight, was returned promptly. We explained the situation, and the
wonderful Whiskers representative,
Susan, said they would take him in and give him care at no charge. He would then become a
"Whiskers Cat", and they would also adopt him out when he finally recovered. We
were thrilled. The only problem was his location, still on Long Island!
Through the joint efforts of us and Melissa's mother, we came up with a plan. Melissa's
Mom picked the cat up at the hospital and paid his bill. Then, we both drove toward each
other, meeting at the Tappan Zee Bridge. We then turned around and headed back upstate.
The next two hours seemed to last days, as he was off of his IV, his legs had not yet been
put in a cast, and he was still in very critical condition. We pulled into the Central
Veterinary Hospital in Albany in the early evening, and Susan had already made
arrangements for our arrival. At the time we were under the false impression that the cat
was female, and since it was so close to Christmas, Susan suggested changing
"her" name to Noel.
After examining the cat, performing a number of tests, and taking a couple x-rays, the vet
explained that, with some work, he would most likely make it. One big concern was the fact
that he was unable to go to the bathroom on his own. However, the vet was hopeful and so
were we. Also, it was at this time that we learned the cat's sex--male. The Long Island
vet had told us that he was female, but our new vet confirmed his true identity! At this
point, calling him Noel seemed a bit effeminate, so one of Melissa's co-workers came up
with Leon--Noel spelled backwards! The name stuck.
The next day, Christmas Eve, they performed his first surgery on the less seriously
injured leg. When we visited him the next day, he was shaved down his legs and haunches,
and both legs were in a cast. What a sight! Still, we marveled at the fact that through
this entire ordeal, this little cat displayed such incredible strength, tolerance and
affection, often purring and cuddling despite his massive injuries.
Today, Leon regularly goes to the bathroom on his own, and he will be undergoing his next
surgery on January 2nd. Whiskers,
through their unbelievable generosity and love and respect for all life, have given our
little friend a fighting second chance. Also, they have said that we can adopt him after
the surgery. That is the good news. The bad news is that, in fact, his hind leg will have
to be amputated. Still, we're confident that with enough love, patience and work, his
strength will carry him through.
Be sure to check back here often, as we will frequently update his progress, as well as
post pictures as they become available.
Today, January 6, 1997, Leon's story was actually picked up by a local
newspaper, The Schenectady Gazette! Here is the text of that article by Meredith Kruse.
Couple Goes the Extra Mile to Rescue Feline In Trouble
By Meredith Kruse, Gazette Reporter
HALFMOON -- You couldn't get much more down and out than
Pumpkin the Cat.
The eight-month-old orange cat was found on a roadside in Long Island, his hind legs
crushed by a passing car, shortly before Christmas by James and Melissa Feck of Halfmoon.
"His eyes were glazed. He looked like he was shivering. He looked horrible,"
Melissa Feck said. "We didn't think he was going to make it."
A local veterinarian told the Fecks it would it would cost more than $1,000 to heal him.
The Fecks found Pumpkin's owners, who said they couldn't afford even $75 to euthanize him,
and wanted to simply take him home to die. Instead, the Fecks returned home Dec. 23 and
called Whiskers, a no-kill animal shelter in Albany, which agreed to pay Pumpkin's surgery
and find him a home, since the Fecks already have three cats.
That same day, Feck's Mother and sister brought Pumpkin to a rendezvous point at the
Tappan Zee Bridge, and from there the Fecks whisked him to Central Veterinary Hospital in
Albany. He underwent surgery on one leg on Christmas Eve; the other had to be amputated
last Friday.
Pumpkin is now recovering and is able to sit up with the help of a stuffed teddy bear the
Fecks gave him.
"He holds onto it and he kind of pulls himself up. He sits up kind of like a
person," Whiskers Co-President Sue Mahar explained. "He loves his teddy
bear."
Pumpkin will have to stay at the vet's for another week or so, but when he's ready to
leave, the Fecks have decided he'll come home with them.
"After everything we went through, going to visit him and sitting with him, there was
no way we could let somebody else take him," Feck said.
They had renamed the cat Noel, thinking he was a female at first, then discovered
otherwise. "Noel was a little effeminate for him, so a co-worker came up with Leon,
which is Noel spelled backwards," Feck explained.
The Fecks credit Whiskers with saving Leon's life, but Mahar said the couple deserves the
praise.
"We hear a lot of stories about animals being hurt and people putting forth the extra
effort to get them to us safely," she said. "But these people really went the
extra mile."
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This page was last updated on August 09, 2007