The Sentinal

9 Jun '06 9:04 pm

She is so shiny & black ... beautiful.. What is her name?
And Splat ---- The very proud Mum --- you can just see it written all over her face..
Great photos Pumpkin

9 Jun '06 9:15 pm

Her name is Baby Very Happy

so sooky, it suits her Wink

Don't let the shine fool you, she is the grubbiest cat ever! Always covered in cobwebs and never washes her face properly Embarassed

But she is adorable and squeaks ever so cutely when you pick her up Very Happy

Splat was a very proud mum and looked after her kittens well. Kittens are great to have around...it's just so sad when they go to their new homes.

10 Jun '06 3:31 pm

We have 2 cats these days. We have had them for at least 4 years now. They are a pair of characters I can tell you that!

I have been waiting with hidden joy to introduce you all to our furry companions. This seems like the perfect opportunity.

Weebles is a small white female. She sort of chose us in a rather odd circumstance. But we were thrilled when she decided to stay. Just a small kitten at the time, all ears legs and tail and not much else.

Percy is a big black male. He is rather a rambunctious lad and a terrible chicken hearted bully. Prone to ripping flesh for sport. Wild and defiant, but we have groan to love him as he is. He has a charming side to him. My wife is the only one he is sweet on. Never bites or claws her. A big baby in her arms. Unpredictable with everyone else. He is especially protective of Deb when she and the dog are playing.

The newcomer to the house is Storm. She is mostly Border Collie. We got her last August from the shelter. We met her one day and when we came out of the shelter there was a terrific Thunder Storm. My wife thought of calling her storm and it seemed to fit like a glove. She now has run of the yard. I think I have taught her to stay out of the flower beds. In the short time she has become very dear to us all.....except Percy, who still gives her a hisssss and arches his back like a Halloween cat at least once a day. Strange as it is, I think they are playing a game. Storm never goes after the cats. She is a good dag and eager to please us.

10 Jun '06 3:59 pm

What fantastic pics of very brave cats GardenGnome! Very Happy

They appear to have quite long coats, do you have to brush them often?
I love that they are very black and snowy white Wink

Why are they kept on leashes?
It is not a common sight here and I have only seen a few when they have been travelling.

Lol at the 2nd last pic! Who looked away first?! Shocked

11 Jun '06 10:44 am

We keep our cats on a leash when they go outdoors for several reasons. The main reason is to keep them safe from traffic and other dangers of the streets. The leash is hooked to a harness the cats wear and attaches between their shoulder blades so as not to accidentally cause them injury. They've gotten so used to it now that they come running when I call them and they see their leashes in my hand and hold nice and still for me while I put them on. We always monitor them closely because they do sometimes get tangled in or around the strangest things, like twigs or rocks on the ground. It's funny because they could easily free themselves but they play "Help, I'm trapped!" until we come running. They sure have us trained well, don't they? Rolling Eyes

They are always put well within reach of a tree to climb and so they have shade. Actually, there is a leash law in the city here, although it doesn't seem to be enforced much. The leashes are about 20 feet long and are staked in the middle of the yard so they can get to all areas (except our new flower beds, of course!!). One of the nice things about using leashes is that you can keep them away from certain areas, depending on where you anchor them. Also, they can only climb as high in the trees as the leashes allow, which means they can't reach the birdhouse I made! Poor kitties! Lucky birds! Laughing

Our neighborhood is teeming with cats. There seems to be a large turnover in the population, too. The couple that used to live beside us went through eight cats in two years. They kept disappearing, at least that's how my wife prefers to think of it.. they just left and found new homes. She is very protective of all animals and would take in every stray she saw if she could. We also have two unscrupulous neighbors that each have Rottweilers and think nothing of letting them run loose on the street. There are a lot of young kids in this area, too, and it worries us to see these big dogs uncontrolled and running at large. We don't have anything against Rottweilers, just bad owners. I'm glad my yard is totally fenced off now.

Christopher

13 Jun '06 8:26 am

Dear Christopher,

I am trully amazed of your approach to animals! And your wife's, certainly! You are so loving and protective, having lots of good humor!

It is really critical the situation in your neighbourhood. The dogs you refer to are huge , moving around and behaving like puppies when friendly, huge puppies ! But I think they generally are not fond of cats, like the adorable Huskies...So, you do well you protect your kitties, so beautiful kitties!

But , still, it is so unusual the story of having the cats on a leash!Even having them quite "free".

13 Jun '06 10:53 am

Even our sentinal eventually goes off-duty.

...and after she woke up we questioned her about her little "pause". She said, "Wot!... They're the same size as every other cat's". Shocked

Determined to get a straight answer from her, I persisted, accusing her outright of sleeping. She just looked at me blankly and said, "Oh THAAAT...I was just checking my eyelids for pinholes". -----------(( Confused

)) I give up.

13 Jun '06 12:48 pm

Now THAT ,dear Sjoerd ,is REALLY living ! !
How lovely it is to do nothing much and have a rest afterwards !
Dixie .

13 Jun '06 1:23 pm

Too roit, Dix! --- Oh, to have a cat's life, Sighhhhh... Smile

13 Jun '06 6:00 pm

THIS sort of eyes, THIS sort of fur, THIS sort of an animal, made me fall in love with all Felines, and animals in general, since I remember myself in this life of mine!! My mun was bringing home, after her work, all sort of abandoned baby animals, mainly kittens like THIS!! We were living in humble hired houses with adorable little natural gardens those early days..

The Sentinal

Scaredy-cat

We have sentries on duty here too.

Cats on leashes

Cat stories!

Going,..Going....Gone.....

Sjoerds cat

Oh, my!