Collection is the cat's meow

Well, in a way, they are if you count her two cats.

See, Nitzschke of Sioux City collects kitty whiskers, all of which are housed in a Suisse Mocha container.

"Most people don't know that kitty whiskers fall out and are replaced," she clarified. "Do you suppose people think I go through the shelters, pulling out all the kitty whiskers in order to amass a collection that big? Who knows? But as I always say, "If you can't be first, be different."

Q. When did you start collecting the cat whiskers?

A. The same time I started "collecting" cats, in the early-to-mid 1980s in Glenwood Springs, Colo.

Q. Why did you start this type of collection?

A. For the exact same reason people climb mountains. Because they're there. I guess I don't really have any real answer for that. I never really started it with the intention of starting a collection. I just thought they were kind of interesting. Besides, as many times as I've moved, if I were to start any kind of a collection, what would be better than kitty whiskers? They all fit into one little Suisse Mocha container!

Q. How does one go about collecting whiskers?

A. Step 1. Start by getting a cat, or two, or three, or four, or maybe even as many as five if you want the collection to grow faster. Then just watch for them while cleaning and doing laundry or so on. I had a tuxedo kitty, Buzzy, and I could sometimes tell when one of his whiskers was ready to come out, because it would bend or face in a different direction, so I'd give it a little tug, and it would come out. Pulling on them hard or cutting them off, is cheating, plus not worth the battle. You'd have to stage to collect them that way, especially if your kitties still have four-wheel drive, as mine do.

Q. How many whiskers do you have?

A. Almost as many as my kitties do, these days. Oh, you meant kitty whiskers! I last counted them many years ago for an odd collection contest through the Des Moines Register, and I had more than 800 at that time. I would guess it's over 1,000 now. I'm thinking another count is in order, as I may want to see about getting into the Guinness Book Of World Records.

Q. What's the appeal of continuing with the collection?

A. Sure beats work! Besides, how many people can say they have a kitty whisker collection or would even admit to such?  No appeal, really, but why stop? It's not a hard thing to do. It's my kitties who do all the work. They have to produce them.

Q. Tell me about the contest you entered. What prompted that?

A. It was a contest for the oddest collection. I don't remember ever winning any kind of contest before, but I thought for sure I'd have this one in the bag!  Then, I lost out to, I believe, little bottles of dirt collected from vacation sites, which was first place and Spam memorabilia which was second place. Even my kitties hissed at that decision.

Q. What do friends think of your collection?

A. Knowing who was collecting the whiskers, I don't think they were very surprised to learn of it. Some people with cats of their own actually would end up finding some whiskers at their homes, too, and save them for me, so I guess my friends are a bit "touched," too.

Q. What whiskers do you notice might be different than the others?

A. The ones from my tiger kitties have a dark tip at the thick end where they are attached within the skin. My tuxedo kitty had all pure white whiskers. My black Persian had very long whiskers, especially for such a small cat, and they were as black as could be. And, my Himalayan has cream-colored whiskers that are a bit naturally curly.

Q. Do you collect anything else?

A. Well, I was going to collect the fangs from my tarantula when she shed her skin, but I kept making the mistake of giving them, plus the skins, away with the note, "Fangs for the memory." I found out people are just as scared of the skins as they are of the actual spider, itself. I was going to make a barrette for my hair out of one of the skins -- the skins stay in one piece when they shed them. I figured I'd never have to stand in line ever again with that thing in my hair. I guess I do have another collection. I have more than 3,000 45s but, again, that was never started as a true collection, either. I just wanted them because I like to play my flute along with them. Then, too, another sort-of-a collection would be that I have all the local papers from when President Kennedy was assassinated, a day when the world seemed to come to a screeching halt.

Q. Any thought to ever stopping the whisker collection?

A. Well, I'm down to just two kitties now, and they are going to be my last suppliers. I have loved all my kitties a lot, but dang, it's hard going through the process of losing them over and over again. My life and, especially, my job have been so difficult for so long now that having to part with my kitties when they die is just not something I need to add to the mix anymore. My last two are 14, but they're doing great and should have several more years of life left to go, as I feed them raw meat, and it makes a huge difference in their health.