Background info on Big Kitty

----- Forwarded by Stephanie Panus/NA/Enron on 05/11/2001 02:02 PM -----

Becky Spencer@ECT
05/11/2001 10:23 AM

To: aye Ellis/HOU/ECT@ECT, Suzanne Adams/HOU/ECT@ECT, Martha
Braddy/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENt, Marie Heard/Enron
Communications@Enron Communications, Tana Jones/HOU/ECT@ECT, Susan
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cc: becca-lynn@prodigy.net
Subject: Background info on Big Kitty

<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 it's 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 Ibs.
<
<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".
<
<NOW go have a look at "Snowball."