My Girls

In December, I introduced you all to my great (late) bantam hen, Lily. Now I'd like to introduce you to two more of the loves of my life. They make me go all warm and fuzzy inside. Awwww I'm such a sap!

The one on the left is Ellie and Marmalade (or Marmers as she's usually called) is on the right. Aren't they just gorgeous? Okay, I know I'm biased and everyone probably thinks their animal is the most beautiful (unless it's a really manky animal, I suppose). This was taken on a cold winter's night when they were lying by the fire back in 1998.

My girls first came to live with us back on the 12th January 1997 when they were five years old. Yep, on 12th January this year, my girls had been part of my family for ten years and they're now fifteen! They're sisters and previously lived as farm cats at Manypeaks (40kms from Albany). Then their owners decided to move and subsequently give them away. I don't know who could part with such gorgeous animals but their loss was my gain.

In December 1996, I was reading the local paper when I saw them advertised - 'Free to a good home. Two ginger female sterilised cats.' At first I was a bit sceptical whether they were actually girls because most ginger cats are male. My kitten Sassy had been hit by a car just a couple of months earlier and I really wanted another cat. My mum eventually agreed (Dad doesn't count since he dislikes most animals). We were the only people who rang up about them and after going out to the farm to meet them, I was smitten. So they became ours and if we hadn't adopted them, they might have ended up at the pound and possibly on death row! Not a nice thought!

While I loved my girls, they were very different to Sassy. I'd had Sassy since she was six weeks old and she loved cuddles and affection. Ellie and Marmers had recieved very little attention and had lived outside and were therefore not nearly as used to being smothered by people. They enjoyed being stroked but if you tried to pick them up or sit them in your lap, they would wriggle until you let them go.

I also realised that despite being sisters, they had very different personalities. Marmers was outgoing, loved attention and people and obviously was popular among the tom cats because she'd already had three litters of kittens before being sterilised. Ellie was timid and shy but affectionate once she got to know you - it just took a while to build up her trust. She on the other hand had had no kittens. Ellie had a beautiful meow - it sounded just like she was singing! Marmers' meow sounded like she was a lamb bleating. If they were human, Ellie would be a prude and Marmers a slut.

Getting the girls into town was a bit of a challenge. They travelled in separate boxes, taped up with masking tape but Ellie was so frightened she tried to claw her way out of the box. When we eventually got them home, we were too afraid to let them outside and litter boxes seemed foreign to them so eventually, after hanging on for several days, Ellie crapped behind the TV!

Sibling rivalry gradually began to develop. After being starved of attention for five years, suddenly they had people fawning all over them. Outgoing Marmers lapped this up so we had to be careful to make sure Ellie got enough attention too. This made Marmers very jealous and it became more common for the girls to hiss and swipe at each other. They both became increasingly fat, particularly Ellie, although I don't know why since we don't overfeed them. She has since lost some weight but has some loose hanging skin as a result and she looks like she needs a tummy tuck.

Over the years, Ellie in particular has proved to be an expert hunter and would rather eat a stinky old bird or mouse than the nice meat we buy them. Both the girls were made to wear large bells on their collars as punishment. I made it quite clear that I didn't approve of Ellie's new hobby and if she caught something she got a little smack on her rump and sprayed with the hose. Then she'd go and sulk. Marmers was far too lazy to hunt and quite content to eat whatever Ellie would leave her. I do remember once Marmers caught a wild rabbit - but it was blind!

Now the girls are much too old to be hunting and sadly Marmers is looking quite thin and her fur quite mattered. She may also have arthritis in her hind legs. Ellie looks remarkably good for her age. I think Marmers might also be losing it a bit upstairs unfortunately. I caught her peeing on the concrete driveway a year or so ago.

I hope my little tigers go on for a few more years yet :) Here are some more photos so you can see Marmers in her heyday.

Ellie (front) and Marmers in 1997.

Ellie, 1997.

Marmers, 1997.

Ellie, 1997.

Ellie, 1997. Don't take a picture of me!

Marmers, 1998.

Ellie still doesn't want her picture taken - 1998.

Ellie (left) and Marmers - April 2004.

Mum with Ellie - January 2005.