and I thought Ellie was fat!!!

:-)


 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Cantrell, Rebecca  
Sent:	Friday, May 04, 2001 10:36 AM
To:	Julie A Gomez/HOU/ECT@ENRON
Subject:	FW: FW: BIG CAT!!!

You won't believe the size of this cat.

---------------------- Forwarded by Rebecca W Cantrell/HOU/ECT on 05/04/2001 10:34 AM ---------------------------

 
William Harper <William.Harper@nesanet.org> on 05/04/2001 09:54:00 AM
To:	"'Black, Cathy'" <cj5black@yahoo.com>, "'Bracewell, Pat'" <pat.bracewell@elpaso.com>, "'Carrera, Barb'" <barbara_h_carrera@reliantenergy.com>, "'Cantrell, Becky'" <rebecca.w.cantrell@enron.com>, "'Ford, Ron'" <rford@ziffenergy.com>, "'Harper, Jane'" <jellenharper@msn.com>, "'Harper, Bill'" <harpersferry_2000@yahoo.com>, "'Harper, Spencer'" <coleman567@hotmail.com>, "'Patterson, Paige'" <ppatt@vzinet.com>, "'Schlesinger, Henry'" <henryschlesinger@worldnet.att.net>, "'Schneider, Paula'" <pschneider@gesexpo.com>, "'Schneider, Russell'" <rschneider@gesexpo.com>
cc:	 
Subject:	FW: FW: BIG CAT!!!


Even if you don't have time to read the story below definitely check out the
photo at the end.  That is one DAMN BIG feline!


Now this is a Big Cat!

Mr. Degagne recalls how 15 years ago he befriended two stray young cats on the old AECL research facility at Chalk River. The kittens had appeared in late summer and apparently had gotten under a security fence around the old labs, abandoned since the late 50's. With the help of his tuna  sandwich, Mr. Degagne was able to coax the kitties close enough so that he could  pick them up. A self described animal lover, he did not want to place the kittens in the local Humane Society. Later that evening his wife Louise and their two children came to a family decision to keep the kittens which they named Lost and Found.  Lost was a female and Found was a male. When nature finally took its course, a litter of kittens was born 6 years later. One of the litter was a big white female with unique black markings on her side and tail.

Something about the kitten captured the hearts of the family, and while her siblings eventually found homes elsewhere, Snowball stayed with the Degagne's.  In her 9 years Snowball's size has seemed to snowball.  Put simply, Snowball is no ordinary cat -- she measures 69 inches from nose to tail and weighs in at 87 lbs.  She started out a big kitty and she just seemed to keep growing.  She always meowed for more food and would climb up on the counter to eat food which I forgot to cover.  Chicken is her favorite. 

"Once I left a cooked chicken on the table that I was going to use for a boat picnic, an hour later the chicken was gone," Louise said. We knew that snowball wasn't your average cat when the neighbor's German Shepherd ran yelping away from his first encounter with her.  She just isn't afraid of any animals.  After we found a half eaten raccoon out by the garage, we decided that maybe Snowball should be kept fenced in. We soon discovered that while we can keep Snowball in the yard, we couldn't keep raccoons from Snowball.  "At least it kept the food bills down," Rodger laughed. "Like all female cats she is very territorial, but with us she is just a big ole kitten," he said.
				
So what does a 87 pound cat eat? Snowball goes through about 3 lbs. of cat food a day, along with cooked chicken, supplemented with deer and moose that Rodger hunts in the fall.  She likes Pike a lot, so I don 't throw them back any more.  Snowball often accompanies Rodger fishing on the Ottawa, eagerly peering over the side of the boat as soon as his line goes tight.  So what do the Degagne's attribute Snowball's size to?  Rodger says "Well,the vet thinks it could be her thyroid, but she isn't fat, she's just a real big cat. I think maybe her parents got into something at Chalk River that they shouldn't have."
				
NOW go have a look at "Snowball."

		


 - BigCat.jpg 



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