Featured Pets 2022
Meet Sawyer, Smokey and Shaggy Maggie, the Kitties on The Corner.
Sawyer was born on March 6, 2009 and he was a surprise gift from Vie Giordano’s late husband Pat for their anniversary in 2009. Sawyer is a pure breed “Apple Head” Siamese cat due to his round head as opposed to the more commonly found triangular shaped heads. On May 5, 2009 he joined the Giordano family and has been a loving part of the family ever since.
In 2016 Pat and Vie moved into Desert Breezes and met their neighbors Wayne Temple and Gary Smith that lived across the corner on St. Augustine at Lisbon Way. Wayne was a true animal lover and one day a feral female cat delivered 3 kittens in his backyard and he decided to keep them all and had them neutered and spayed. One day Wayne asked Vie if she would take care of his kittens if anything ever happened to him and being the kind hearted woman that she is, she said yes. Sadly both men passed away sometime later and Vie inherited the group of cats.
Some of those cats have since moved on but today Vie still takes care of 2 of them. Smokey who you may see perched on top of her gate on Via Lisbon is a beautiful Russian Blue cat and is very shy. If you approach her, she will run into her back yard and climb a tree, not to be seen until you leave. Shaggy Maggie many neighbors know as she is very kind and gentle and she easily wins the hearts of all passerby. She can also be seen either on the front lawn or on the side wall watching all the activity. The 2 feral cats primarily eat and sleep outside and remain safe at night from Coyotes because they sleep up in a tree in Vie’s back yard.
Feral cats are often misunderstood but if we humans take the time to have them neutered or spayed and provide them with some food, the love we all seek, and outdoor shelter from the elements, they can really be beneficial to our community. They are natural predators of the local fruit rats that live in some of our trees (eating bits and pieces of our grapefruits and lemons), helping to keep that rat population at bay. Sawyer is a curious cat and often seen exploring on Via Lisbon but he comes home every night to sleep safely inside his home.