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The cats detailed below were brought from Tennessee to Virginia in 1994, plus any that arrived after then.  Of course, there were others before then. 

"Dixie" was born a Missouri farm cat in 1987 - April 10, 2005.  She rode home from there in the airplane, making her our only flying cat.  Her name was based on a movie character played by Virginia Madsen.  Dixie was a long haired cat,  part manx.  She was fond of sleeping.  She did not get too excited about eating, but liked to share tunafish lunches.  She was a hunter, bringing home moles, voles, shrews, mice and maybe even a snake.  Dixie had a soft voice and spoke very infrequently.  She spent a lot of time asleep under the bed headboard snoring.  Dixie seldom condescended to sit in a lap, but will sit upright for hours on the arm of the couch next to you.

"Big Guy", born spring 98 (?) - died too young of FELV/FIV November 4, 1999.  He was a frequent visitor.  Actually, he adopted us, but we remained in denial.  He was very gentle and friendly, but, as an unaltered male, was battle ready.  He bore the scars to prove it.  Big Guy got along well with most of our other cats except for Minnie, whom he terrorized every chance he could, apparently just so she would scream and run away.   He spent his days sitting on the tractor seat or on the living room couch.   For such a big strong cat, he had a tiny squeak of a voice, and liked to talk.

"Barnum", passed on June 11, 2005 at the age of 17.   Born in a barn, he came to us with a sister sibling for delivery to someone else.   Bailey cat showed up at the same time, so we named them after a box of animal crackers (Barnum and Bailey).  Barnum was a scaredy cat, who spent most of his time hiding under the bed, in the garage, or under the porch.  He was very selective about who he associated with, preferring the female of the house.  He was a silver domestic shorthair, very striking in appearance Guests seldom got to see him.

"Minnie", (aka "Little") born spring 98 (?), just showed up on the back deck one day.  She is a long hair with a dark mottled coat and extra bushy tail.  Minnie was named for her miniature size, originally about 6 pounds; however she is now a more normal sized cat .  She is a bundle of energy, chasing anything new which falls in the floor.  She likes to bite the flaps of cardboard boxes, punching little teeth holes.  She never misses a meal, including supervising the preparation and disposal thereof.  Minnie likes to sit on laps as well as to sink claws in your leg or bite finger rings to get your attention.  She climbed up into trees a couple of times in her youth, including one cold, snowy day and night spent up one.

"Grumman", 1983?-2002, came to us full grown, neutered and declawed in front.  He also just showed up one day at the back door.  He was a black persian.  He was fairly vocal.  He liked to eat but had unsolved problems with his teeth.  He yelled and growled harmlessly, but kept eating.  Grumman got along fine with everyone but Bailey, whom he avoided.   (Who can figure out cats?)  When we lived in the city Grumman liked Halloween trick or treaters, so it is appropriate that he passed away quietly on the night of Halloween 2002.

"Cousin Itt", maybe less than a year old when he just showed up in winter of '02.   Looks to be a relative of Minnie's (hence "Cousin") and is shaggy (remember "Cousin Itt" from The Addam's Family?  Likes to chase things, especially the laser pointer spot.