Felines and Canines

Meet the various animals in the Jagger household, each has its own unique personality but all are adorable.

Our animals have been described as pets but my husband, the romantic, prefers to describe them as famiy members. Currently, we have three cats and two dogs - all female. Steve says he is totally outnumbered, he lives with me, our two daughters and a schoolfriend of the youngest - an all female household.

Our two dogs are the youngest members of the household. Both black retriever mixes, the one on the left is Sadie, the youngest an Irish Setter/Black Lab cross, and Polly, on the right is probably Lab mixed with spaniel or maybe border collie. They look like Flatcoated Retrievers, especially Sadie and people always ask if they are related or if Sadie is the mummy and Polly the puppy but we got Sadie Thanksgiving 2001 when she was about a year old from Irish Setter Resue in New jersey and Polly from the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter last April aged approximately 10 months.

Alba is a well travelled cat. Aged sixteen now she was born in Long Wittenham, Oxfordshire and lived in Belgium before she came to the USA. She is the sweetest tempered cat. When she is hungry she will lightly tap you with her paw to attract your attention. If I am asleep she walks on the headboard where we keep a vase with cards in it. She will pick up the cards with her teeth and drop them on my head one by one until I get up and feed her. How cute is that?

Midge is the other British cat, black and white and weighs over 13lbs. She is not fat, just amply proportioned. She has a purpose in life: to help humans. To this end she is usually to be found "helping" at the computer but she is also known as "Nurse Midgie" because if you are sick or upset she will administer comfort - usually whilst sitting on your chest.

Wilba is our Belgian cat that we found abandoned aged three weeks in our garden in Overijse near Brussels. Her mother was a wild cat that lived in the shed next door and she carried two of her litter of kittens to safety in our garden. We adopted one and our neighbours the other. She was so small she fitted in the palm of my hand and so young only one of her eyes was open. We didn't know if she would survive but she is a fighter and she is still here. She is the most vocal of the cats and the most independent but she loves to be petted and to grab your hand and sink her teeth into the ball of your thumb. All in play you understand.

The cats get along together although only Midge and Alba will actually play or curl up together and luckily they all get along with the dogs. We used to have a black lab called Sam and all the cats slept on or around him but he was old and very calm. Midge will sleep with Sadie and Polly but whenever Sadie sees Wilba she tries to imitate the miaow sound the tiger cat makes and Wilba isn't certain what to make of this.

Although we only have five animals of our own sometimes we get a visit from our neighbour dog Shadow. He loves the girls, both canine and feline and they seem to tolerate him pretty well too. He usually comes over when he gets lonely at home, knocking his head against the door until Polly barks to let me know that there is something outside I should be aware of. I did try to ignore him for a while but he is the perfect visitor: tall, dark and handsome.

Stop Press:

Our beautiful white cat, Alba is no more. She died one Sunday morning before Xmas 2002 at sixteen years of age. She was a great cat and we will miss her.

Latest News - Memorial Day 2004

We have a new kitten. Just before we moved house we found a tiny black kitten crying outside. When I opened the door he marched in, went straight to the cat's dish and started feeding. I really wasn't thinking about getting a cat until the move was over but what are you gonna do? We've called him Cassis as he is black and he's very affectionate and cute. However he already eats twice as much as the other two cats do so food bills will become an issue I'm sure.

Cassis is now six months old and isn't sure if he is a cat or a dog. He tries to play with Midge and Wilba but he is too rough for them. He pounces on Midge and leaves with a moustache of white fur from her back. She hisses at him and he slouches away. The dogs don't seem to mind when he swings on their ears or tails so he follows them around even when they go for walks. He accompanies them to the end of the road and then waits until they come back, rushing out to greet them and chewing on the leashes till we get back inside the house. How sweet is that?

Latest News - March 18 2005

Cassis has a new playmate, Jefke. We boarded the three cats last month while i was ill and when it was time to pick them up Steve thought I should go along for the ride (the fresh air would do me good he reasoned) and sit in the car while he sprung the kitties. However I had to get out of the passenger seat of the Jeep in order to get the carriers from the back and I thought I might as well go and help carry a kitty. Big mistake. We opened the door and there was the assistant playing with an abandoned kitten. Then the persuasive marketing sell began. He would be a playmate for Cassis our year-old cat, Cassis would then stop tormenting Midge, our sixteen year old senior cat, we could have him on a trial basis, he was already neutered etc, etc. I tried to explain that we had nothing to carry him home in and no room for another cage in the car but it turned out they had a cardboard carrier I could balance on my knee. There was no way we were going to get out of there without a new kitty, I was too tired to argue, and Steve was trying to make up for a trip we had had to cancel, so we gave in and left the vet's with four cats.

Jefke is white with black and silver tabby markings and he and Cassis chase each other all over the house, great fun, especially at 5:30. It has taken the pressure off Midge, who just hisses at Jef and Wilba just gives him a filthy look and he backs off so it has worked out well.

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