December 2004

We can't believe it is nearly Christmas again - please scroll down to see what we have been doing

Kitten adventures - click to go to our kitten web site

Links page

Cat accessories - favourite things!
Facts page - shows details of our breeding
FRIENDS page

Amy - my first Birman

Katy and Lucy's page

Great Danes

Video Clips - See the trio playing with 'Panic Mouse'

Comparisons - how we have changed over the years

I can hardly believe that we are almost in December again and Christmas is just around the corner - it doesn't seem that long since last Christmas!

Of course before we get to Christmas I will be having my third birthday and, as appears to be customary in this household now, Joan likes me (and the others) to pose for a couple of formal photographs so that all our readers can see how we are doing.

So last weekend out came the camera, a long length of fabric, a huge cardboard box and one or two of our favourite toys and we had a photographic session with Joan. She says it is quite tricky because she needs to get us sitting still and posing, attract our attention with the toy and snap the camera all at the same time! Mind you we think we are all getting quite good at this now so she shouldn't really find it that difficult.

This page contains the results of our session so you can judge how it went.

Needless to say we made it a fun session as well as a photographic one - well we have to keep Joan on her toes you know!

The individual pictures are one thing, and as you will see Max got quite bored with that in the end and just shut his eyes and 'thought of England', but Joan had the bright idea that a group photo would be better.

That was quite a foolish assumption of course because one human trying to 'control' three cats is something of an impossible task - or it certainly is when we are the three cats!

We would let her sit us on the same box together then just as she picked up the camera one or other of us would jump off! Either that or the two boys would decide it was a good excuse for a play fight which meant I would excuse myself and let them get on with it.

She did get some quite decent photos of two of us together but three proved to be just too much of a challenge - better luck next time we say!

One good game we discovered was that if you weren't actually having your picture taken you could sneak around the back and then dive under the material forming the backdrop - at least we thought it was good fun!

We think that Joan was really pleased with Max this time - she often says she never manages to catch him looking handsome or like the 'real' Max. This time he was on really good form and kept sitting there posing like a true professional.

Joan has started work in her new job now but she hasn't got a proper 'office' yet so has spent some days working from home. We think that is quite good because on those days we have been able to go out in the garden at lunchtime for a run about which is fun.

The other day an enormous pheasant was strutting around in the garden but Joan would not let us go out until he had flown away which we think is a bit unsporting. He was very big but we do like a challenge!

All the leaves have come off the trees now and we have have been spending lots of time chasing them around the garden on windy days - Max is 'chief leaf chaser' but Oscar is learning fast!

Now that it is very much colder outside we are starting to take keeping warm much more seriously.

No longer does Joan wake each morning wondering what we are up to as invariably we are snuggled up close to her and each other.

Oscar still likes to seize the opportunity to sneak under the duvet if he can but Joan says that he fidgets a bit too much sometimes and wakes her up!

Oscar is still doing his regular visits to the old folk as a PAT cat. Joan says he is really good at it now and has a regular fan club who are waiting for him when he arrives.

One of his old ladies is quite poorly in hospital at the moment, we are keeping our paws crossed that she will soon get better and go back to the home so that Oscar can keep her spirits up.

Joan wouldn't want you to think from all these photos that we are totally well behaved all of the time.

Just to prove that sometimes everything doesn't go to plan she has included the couple of pictures below showing when she had an earlier attempt at getting Max and Oscar in a photo together.

Whilst it might look a little fierce it wasn't really - just a bit of good natured boxing between the two of them but it doesn't quite portray the image of relaxed refined cats who lounge around all day long.

Oscar does get a bit over enthusiastic sometimes and forgets he is big and heavy and hurts when he throws his weight around so Max sometimes needs to lay down the law.

Oscar takes it all in the best of humour and it never seems to take the wind out his sails!

Lara