The felines of Far Out

When we came to Far Out I intended to have only two cats, Porgy and Bess. But no one wanted Tigger, so he stayed, and then, along came Daisy.

I gave up cats for about 12 years in the interests of small birds and wildlife, and also because I was afraid of becoming a cat lady. But when there was a plague of field mice, I went out in search of an effecive solution. The first candidate was a  $200 rescue cat from the  RSPCA with the most promising name of  Hunter, who was gorgeous looking but scratchy and not cuddlesome.. When I asked if he might decide to move out of our place,seeing as he had abandoned one family, the cat-keeper told me that they generally did run away, there was no refund, and if it was rescued again and rehoused I would have to pay up again!

Daisy the dwarfette





Porgy the kingpin



I decided to hunt for a careless Cat Lady who did not desex her animals. Such women always have  a A Bad Reputation in the Neighbourhood, so it did not take long source a  Genuine Cat Lady with around 68 cats all living inside her house.

 I brought home two  kittens (free to good home, of course), brother and sister, who had been hauled around remorselessly by the children of Genuine Cat Lady. They were black with fleas...the kittens, that  is ( I didn't check the children!)

Once my moggies (Porgy and Bess) were thoroughly Veterinated, they proved to be adorable. The male had the big chop immediately....and the girl got pregnant before reaching the mandatory weight for desexing. She chose the Russian Blue next door (can hardly believe that they were as careless as we were on that issue).  We accidentally kept the least attractive of the litter, Tigger, and he has proven to have the beautiful disposition of his relatives, calm and floppy, purry and peaceful.

Bess, who is Ben's beloved friend



Tigger the timid

 I should say that these moggies seem to have the genetics of  Norwegian Farm Cats - they have "ear furnishings", they are very large, double coated, and they have a lot of the genes associated with Rag Dolls, those trendy and costly cats.  Of course all of these new breeds are just the result of someone getting smart in developing desirable characteristics and appearance.

The one thing I should mention is THEY DONT LIKE GRANDCHILDREN...all of my grandchildren are terrified or my gorgeous floppy lovey cats, and some of them have gone away scarred!!!  Daughters in law are not happy when I explain that Porgy and Bess had an unhappy childhood.

 



Our fourth cat is a ring in. Her name is Daisy and she was a "kitten" found on the road  by a colleague of mine, who brought her to work, hoping someone would take her home. I did of course, and we were immeditely struck by Daisy's rather grown-up attitudes and strategies for handling the family and ingratiating herself to the other cats. Daisy actually played baby to Bess. Bess still behaves as though Daisy is one of her own kittens! She did not abandon us, but she also never grew. So we realised our "kitten" was in fact a dwarf cat. We have a dwarf dog and dwarf child living in our house, so it was okay.

The thing about Daisy is she does like grandchildren. Juliet quite likes Daisy the dwarfette cat, and Honey, the dwarfette dog.



 I apologise profoundly to the little birds that very occasionally become lunch. But it's the law of the jungle, and the moggies are keeping other things at bay.  When we arrived, the old school next door was full of feral cats, and they departed at the behest of our dogs, I think. And what is a warm fire without a cat (or two, or three or four) around the hearth.