Betz's Pets Page

Birthday: June 2000
Fighting weight: In his prime, he was 17 pounds (Heavyweight) but he's getting older now. He's probably closer to 14 pounds.
Named after: Hustler Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy
Aliases: Ratt, Bubba, Bubbalicious, Beelzebubba, Diablo negro, You little fucker
Known accomplices: Satan
Favorite place to sleep: This guy sleeps all over the place. In fact, he's borderline narcoleptic, often plopping down for a nap in mid-stroll.
Favorite treats: hapless rodents, bugs, grass, spiders, molasses cookies, anything the other cats are eating. Never eats people food.

Ratso is the seed of the devil. He came to our home as a stray in the summer of 2000 (someone abandoned him in our ditch), and I was unable to find him a suitable home. Now, with the energy of a kitten and the size of a large adult male, he keeps us all on our toes.

Ratso is 100% boy. I don't have children, but I expect he is as much trouble as little human boys are. He would be perfectly happy to sleep all day and carouse all night. If we're not careful, he will bring partially-dead captives into the house. He once released a bird in our living room, which has 12-foot ceilings. Catching it was quite an adventure. hankfully, we escaped without any poop on the furniture. Twice now he has demonstrated a "catch and release" approach with chipmunks in the house. One survived; the other did not. He has also brought us moles, mice, rabbits, a snake, large bugs, and dozens of ambiguous severed heads and limbs in various stages of digestion. It is quite necessary to perform a "mouth check" at the door when he wants to come in.

Ratso is the most vocal of cats. Sometimes I would swear he is actually trying to form words out of his meows. One day he came around the corner and I said, "Ratso?" He replied, clear as a bell, "Rat-so" I'm not lying! He meowed his name, I tell you! He also does a dead-on coyote impersonation.

You will see from the pics below that he is not only a great orator, but is also quite photogenic.

As a kitten / teenager

Baby Ratso Look how little he once was! Will he grow into his ears? Baby Ratso Sittin' on dad's lap

Cute ONLY when he sleeps At age 12 weeks, he discovered his favorite chair. He has since destroyed it.

Sleepin' on dad's shoulder Awake on dad's shoulder Put yer Paws Up! Sleeping like a log Who let the cat out of the bag?....

As an adult

Gladiolus inspector Ratso on the scratchin' post Cuteness personified I can SEE you!

Ratso loves "The Glove" Tiptoe....through the tulips.... Tulips again.... STRRRRetchhhhhh

Lounging in one of his favorite spots

Playin'....

Hittin' the bottle Hide & Seek (not very good at it) More Hide & Seek Ratso in the basket EXTREME Closeup

Ratso on the pool table Pool table again What? I fit perfectly in here! Ratso giving Mom "unibrow"