Transfers from the old blog site

Anita and Dean came to visit   16/12/2006 - 17:40.

This weekend Anita and Dean came to see Jack and Jill.We've been trying to get them to come over for ages so it was nice to see them and finally meet Dean.

Dean took plenty of great pictures with a decent camera and hopefully we'll be getting some copies soon.I think they'd look great on here,and I'll try to post high resolution versions to be downloaded at your leisure.

Jack was a little bit huffy to start with as he'd just got woken up from a serious afternoon nap and he woke up grumpy.He soon started to handle all the attention and it wasn't too long before he was rubbing around everyone's legs.

Jill had been awake for a while and had just had a nice long grooming session with the brush.She decided she wanted a bit of space when Anita went to fuss her and so disappered off up stairs for a few minutes.She soon returned when she heard Jack being fussed over.

Anita said she'd get some pictures of the guys as kittens to us.I've had a sneak at one of Jack and can't believe how much he's changed.He really is a handsome chap and has a marvellous character that the local neighbour cats have already discovered.

Haven't seen one of Jill yet but I'm told she's changed a lot since then too.It will be fascinating to see.So I hope I can do a then and now gallery to show off the pictures.

Anita also asked if Jack and Jill would mind a visit from their special friends around Christmas eve and we said that they would be welcome to come.Hope to see you soon.

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Christmas visit of the old pride, 04/01/2007 - 18:41.

After a brisk walk in Knole Park the old pride made their way to Jack and Jill's new territory bearing gifts.They found the two of them fast asleep, as usual, which led a to a slow realisation of who was here to see them.

Jill gave Georgia a serious sniffing session before taking a fuss.Jack actually dragged himself out of his elevated bed to come and see why William was in the room.

After plenty of fussing and cuddling the pair of them slipped easily into a photo shoot,posing like the stars they are and generally getting more and more keen to get back to sleep which they eventually managed.Like cats do.

The gifts have been welcomed warmly,especially the dried whitebait, which has quickly become a reason for paying very close attention to me.The rest of the food treats are also gratefully accepted.The furry mouse got a good kicking straight away and his leather tail is now showing signs of being chewed hard.

The jangly balls have been watched as they roll across the floor,maybe for even a few seconds after they stop rolling and then the guys just make eye contact with me as if to say "Now what happens?".The bouncy snowman is hanging from the door handle and spends a fair bit of time bungee jumping around if Jack passes in the right mood.He makes a jingly sound too just before he hits the door again.

And now noticeable is a change in Jill.She has started to take herself out of the cat flap to get a drink from her favourite puddles and bowls.Even during the strong winds,which whipped her fur into a rippling motion,she went out and had a slurp.I even caught her off up by the side of the koi pond having a sniff about.She is much more likely to go and have a sniff around the garden too if I stay outside but she has been known to remain out there on her own or with her brother after I've come in.A major improvement in confidence levels I believe.

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Jack's blog
Submitted by jagger on Wed, 13/12/2006 - 19:41.

I've started calling Jack my little collie dog.He tends to follow me all over,even if I'm just nipping out to get a screwdriver from the garage or going upstairs to the loo.

He sometimes looks a bit aggrieved when I walk back past him and open the door to the conservatory, just after he's left the catflap,but he generally turns around and follows me back in.

He likes the greenhouse.There's a mouse in there somewhere as testified by the droppings but Jack will only stalk it when I'm outside fiddling with the pond or it's late at night and I'm thinking of bed.That's when he likes to stay out of course.

No such luck mate.We're still keeping the catflap locked at night so the guys don't go wandering too far just yet.We're only into the fourth month of them being here and although Jack is quite happy to run off any interlopers,and is also quite content to walk into any of the neighbours' houses for a look around whether they have cats or not,I'd still like to be sure that they are fully settled in.

I have managed to brush Jack a few times although it's always a battle of wills and a bit of a wrestling match with sharp bits.He isn't resentful though.He'll always take a fuss straight away after the fight,after a few huffs and puffs of course.

He spends the vast majority of his time either sleeping on my bed,under the computer desk in my room,or on the windowsill next to me as I fiddle with the computer.Or looking for food in the kitchen naturally.A human making a cup of tea is a likely food source for Jack.A human making a ham sandwhich is a dead cert if he is cute enough or can generate a suitably plaintiff mewl,which he can.

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Jill's blog

Submitted by jagger on Wed, 22/11/2006 - 14:59.

Jill,we were told,is a hunter.She spends hours out at the stables looking for prey.It would appear that she has changed her spots somewhat since moving.

Before we knew that the cats were moving in with us I used to feed the local bird population.I stopped as soon as we knew that Jack and Jill were coming as I had a friendly flock of house sparrows and some hand-tame pigeons from over the road.

Percy and Valiant are the pets of a couple of neighbouring children and would happily feed out of my hand, especially if there were peanuts involved.They even brought their offspring to the feast on occasion although these two were much less tame.

This morning,whilst the gardener was hacking down the undergrowth,or jungle as I like to call it,Jack and Jill did a short tour of the garden to see if anything had changed.Not a lot had so they came back inside,Jack to my bed and Jill to a vantage point in the conservatory.

When Percy and Valiant decided to make a house call, and also check out any food sources revealed by the gardening, Jill watched intently from her perch.I stood by,ready at a moments notice to scare the pigeons away for their own safety.

It turns out that I needn't have bothered as Jill simply watched and waited.When she did eventually creep out of the cat flap it was to have a drink.She totally ignored the birds up the other end of the garden.

I think it's Jack I need to watch as he has already had a paw full of feathers from one of the young pigeons.