Xanna (a Bengal) and Misty (a lilac-point, modern show-style Siamese) were born 2 days apart in March 2006 and very quickly became the best of friends. While young, they came everywhere with us, walking with us off the lead most of the time. This variety of surroundings gave us plenty of opportunity for photo-shoots and I hope the results will amuse you.
Most cats, if started young enough, will easily learn to walk with you! See Walking the cat.
Their friendship was such that, if we carried Misty and Xanna did not realise this, Xanna would hang back and call for Misty. Similarly, Misty would often shout for Xanna when Xanna disappeared into the bushes (which was quite frequent!). If we took Misty for a walk on her own, she distinctly missed Xanna, calling repeatedly for her friend. When she returned home, she could even be distressed, looking for Xanna around the house. It was really amazing the concern Misty showed for Xanna! Unfortunately, although Misty walked closely to heel, better than do most dogs, Xanna (being a headstrong Bengal) often had her own idea of where we should go and was not always keen to follow us. Sometimes she could decide that hunting in the bushes was more interesting: it was therefore sometimes distinctly easier to leave Xanna at home and just take Misty! This situation got worse as they grew older, so eventually we simply stopped taking Xanna.
Xanna also decided that she liked to go exploring and hunting on her own in the derelict factory opposite, and in the nearby wood. Several times she was lost for several days, reappearing in a bedraggled condition and very hungry. When she was just over 4 years old she did not return from one of these trips. That was in June 2010.
Misty continued to like walking with us, and came many places with us. Until in April 2014 she was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, age nearly 9. In October 2015 we had to say goodbye to her. But in the intervening 19 months she had been walking with us on two holidays: one in the Malverns and another in the New Forest. There are photos of her on many of the walks she did in Walks we have done with the cats.
All thumbnails link to a larger size photo Click on this and you can download the original photo, average size about 5Mb. These were taken with a Canon EOS 350D Digital camera.
When you walk with your cats you never run out of subjects to photograph so there are lots more! If you want more, use the contact button.