|






|
Believe
It Or Not???
Rodger Degagne, a former employee with
AECL 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 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 help of his tuna sandwich, Mr.Degagne was able
to coax the kittens 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 despise of after a few days.
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 turned
out to be female and Found 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 fluffy 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. 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 and one
time I left a cooked chicken on the table that I was going to use for
a boat picnic, and an hour later the chicken was gone," Louise said.
We knew that Snowball wasn't your average cat when the neighbors' German
Shepherd ran away yelping from his first encounter with her.
She just isn't afraid of any animals. After we found a half-eaten raccoon
out by the garbage we decided that maybe Snowball should be kept fenced
in.
We soon discovered that while we can't 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 ol' kitten," he said.
So what does an 87 pound cat eat? Snowball goes through about 3 lbs of
catfood a day, along with cooked chicken, supplemented with deer and moose
that Rodger hunts in the fall. She likes Pike a lot, so he doesn't throw
them back anymore. 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 really big cat. I think maybe
her parents got into something at Chalk River that they shouldn't have."
Here's a photo....
..
Do you believe it or not???
|