Hello! Welcome to our blog…The Island Cats…Every Cat Wants to be an Island Cat! This site is dedicated to our cats…our Island Cats…both past and present.
I began calling them Island Cats ever since my husband and I moved to Grosse Ile, Michigan, an island community located in the Detroit River just south of Detroit. Grosse Ile is a great place to live and we feel very fortunate to be “Islanders.” And we think our cats have it pretty good as “Islanders” as well!
The Island Cats
Let me introduce you to “The Island Cats” both past and present.
When we moved to Grosse Ile in 2001, we had one cat…Scooter. Scooter was adopted in April 1989 at the age of 6 weeks from the Michigan Humane Society.
Scooter, the “Original Island Cat”
April 1989 – January 26, 2006
On July 31, 2003, we welcomed Wally to the island. Wally was 6 weeks old at the time. His mother was a pregnant stray that was found and taken to a local veterinarian clinic. One of the veterinarians fostered her until her kittens were born on June 16, 2003.
Wally lived with Scooter (and us too!) until Scooter passed away on January 26, 2006, just shy of his 17th Gotcha Day.
Wally
June 16, 2003 – February 18, 2019
We welcomed Ernie as an Island Cat on March 11, 2006. Ernie was about 6 or 7 months old when I adopted him from the Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society. Ernie and Wally soon became best buddies.
Ernie
July 2005 – May 3, 2024
Zoey became an Island Cat in February 2008. She had been a stray hanging around my husband’s business for about 6 months. With winter approaching, I decided she needed to be trapped and fixed, and possibly a home found for her. She was estimated to be about 9-10 months old. Unfortunately, Zoey proved to be a wild child, and I knew finding her a home would not be easy. So even though I wasn’t looking for another cat, we brought her to the island hoping she could be acclimated with Wally and Ernie. However, despite all my best efforts, Zoey never saw eye-to-eye with the others.
Zoey
July 2007 – January 6, 2021
We lost Wally on February 18, 2019 of kidney disease at the age of 15.
Zoey passed away on January 6, 2021 at the age of 13 from complications of megacolon and IBD/lymphoma.
Ernie passed away on May 3, 2024 after a long, well fought battle with small cell lymphoma. He was 18 years old.
Each of these losses broke my heart into a million pieces. When I lost Ernie, that felt like the end of an era…all the original Island Cats…the ones that started this blog…were gone. I wasn’t sure how to continue on with blogging. But I knew I still had love in my heart for more cats.
And that’s when this guy entered our lives.
Murphy
On June 19, 2024, we welcomed Murphy, the newest and current Island Cat, to our home. He was adopted from the Wyandotte Animal Adoption Center, a shelter that I had volunteered with for a few years in the past. He was estimated to be about 2 years old. While Murphy could never replace Wally, Ernie or Zoey, he has helped to fill the hole in my heart that was left with the losses of the others.
You can learn more about The Island Cats by visiting the “Meet The Island Cats” page.
The Blog
I began this blog in December 2007. Actually, my husband had it created and gave it to me as a Christmas gift that year. I loved my cats and I wanted a way to share them and their stories with the whole world. But soon the blog was taken over by the cats, and I discovered they sure had a lot to say!
This is a humorous and fun-loving blog featuring The Island Cats who, with help from me, “the mom” aka “the Lady with the Yellow Hair” or for short “the Lady,” share stories and photos of the GOOD LIFE they live on a not-so-tropical Island. Their motto is “Every Cat wants to be an Island Cat!”
I hope you enjoy reading the stories that we share…told from The Island Cats’ perspective…and that the stories and photos bring a smile to your face if not make you laugh out loud and wanting to be an Island Cat, too.
While Murphy is the current focus of the blog, you can visit the archives to read past posts from Wally, Ernie and Zoey.
Please visit often and share your comments. We love hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Sue Doute
The Island Cat Mom…aka The Lady with the Yellow Hair…aka The Lady