Cats

I’d like to introduce you to my cats, in order of arrival.

Larry.  Our first kitten, and first pedigree cat.  A solid black Maine Coon.  He arrived in May 2010 when he was 13 weeks old, from a local breeder.  We were suffering the loss of Bob at the time and Larry did a great job of lifting our spirits. In fact, he’s turned out to be just as big a character as his predecessor.  UPDATE November 2021 – We lost Larry this summer, but he will always be with us.

Monty.  Larry’s littermate.  Arrived a week after Larry.  A black smoke Maine Coon.  I fell in love with Monty when we first visited the kittens, but he was already reserved. We’d only had Larry for a few days when Monty was re-advertised.  The breeder had become suspicious about the prospective owner and cancelled the sale. We got in touch. Another lady was already lined up to take Monty that very evening, but the breeder jumped at the chance to home Monty with his brother.  So calls were made, and Monty came to us. And we had all the fun of a kitten double-act.  So much so, that we dubbed them ‘The Criminals’.

Herbie.  Arrived September 2011 at 13 weeks.  A solid white Maine Coon.  No reason at all to get another cat.  Addiction and indulgence, pure and simple.  And a terrible weakness for the fluffy white ones.  Herbie has the same Dad as Larry and Monty.  But Herbie’s mother is Larry and Monty’s grandmother.  Which makes Larry and Monty’s mother, Herbie’s half-sister.  This is perfectly OK in the cat breeding world, apparently. UPDATE November 2021 – Herbie has advanced heart failure (HCM) but he is doing OK for now on the medication.  He’s our funny little old man.  How quickly 10 years can go by!  UPDATE January 2022 – Herbie declined over Xmas and went to sleep on my lap with the help of our kind local vets.  He remains forever in our hearts. 

Ernie. Joined us November 2021 from the same breeder as before. Mum and Dad are ‘new stock’ from completely different breeding lines. Dad is a huge tiger of a cat, quite the biggest feline I’ve ever seen. So we could be on for a monster with Ernie. But you couldn’t meet a sweeter, quieter boy. Having said that, he has trashed the curtains.