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To
Everything There is a Season: . A Time to Weep, A Time to
Laugh.
Ecclesiastes 3
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Unbelieveable
Big Cat and Atomic Energy?
This is amazing! Rodger Degagne, a former employee with AECL (Atomic
Energy...) in Chalk River, may be embarking on a new career as Feline
Breeder. Relaxing in his spacious home on the shores of the Ottawa
River, 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. In this largely rural area, cats of all stripes and ages
largely go unwanted and are humanely disposed of after a few days.
Later that evening his wife Louise and their two children, Nicole And
Kelly came to a family decision to keep the kittens which they named
Lost and Found. Lost turned out to be female and Found a male. When
nature finally took it's course, a litter of kittens was born 6 years
later.
One of the litter was a big
white female with a 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. While Lost and Found are no longer with us, their progeny
live on.
Unbelieveable Big Cat
and Atomic Energy (cont.)
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 pounds. 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 a 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".
(Okay - It's not
true. Sorry. But it's still a great picture! Snopes.com)
# # #
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Unbelieveable Big Cat and Atomic Energy
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