A Handsome Boy

I’m quite a handsome young boy, even if I say so myself.  My cat mom taught me to keep myself clean and groomed and I spend a lot of time each day making sure I remove any grass, seeds or grit from my fur.  I’m agile and can reach almost all over my body with my mouth.  I have a special rough tongue that can clean and separate all my fur very effectively.  I can’t reach the area around my head though, except with my paws and sometimes another cat will clean this part for me, as my mom used to do.

I’m nearly all black, with white socks on my front feet and longer white markings on my back legs.   I also have a white patch on my tummy that goes all the way up my chest.  I can’t see how far, no matter how hard I try to crane my neck.  I have a fine set of white whiskers and my face is all black.  I know this because I was scared one day when I was small and saw another cat in some water I was drinking.  My mom told me not to worry – it wasn’t a real cat, just a reflection of me, but I’m still careful when I drink from pools of water – just in case…

  

I have an OK purr.  It’s not as loud as the ginger cats; they can make an amazing noise and sometimes they purr in unison.  It’s most impressive.  But my purr will do; my human mom likes it and always makes a fuss of me when I purr to show my appreciation, by stroking me around the head, or rubbing my tummy.  I like to sleep upside down.  Not all cats do this, but if you trust the humans around you, it’s fine and particularly cooling when the weather is very hot.

The one thing I’m worried about is my miaow.  No matter how hard I try, I can’t make it any louder.  However much I concentrate, draw breath and stretch my neck, it always comes out like a squeak.  Some of the older cats here can make blood-curdling noises that frighten other cats, but I just can’t do it.  I’ve asked older cats, but they can’t explain either.  One good thing is that my human mum recognizes my squeak immediately, if I want to go out, come in or ask for something.  It’s even loud enough to wake her if she’s sleepy – so I guess it will do and I should be thankful for having such an easy comfortable life now.

But I digress – I was telling you my story…