Family

There are so many of them I shall start with the oldest and end with the youngest. Please click on a picture for a larger view.
See Belle & Rascal video. See Douglas video1 and video 2
	This is Leo. Leo is the one Patandcarol kept and he is now 15 and our elder statesman. Leo is a stunning silver tabby and although he did show a few times as a kitten he then became far too shy and so did not go to any more shows. He did try again last year but was still too frightened so he won't go to any more now. Leo often talks to Patandcarol and also to anyone who phones them! Leo is now senior cat since his beloved mum, Sylva, passed to the Bridge in September 2007.
	This is Prince Nazeem. Naz is also on Fredi Firebeetle’s Heavyweight Page and he is an internet friend of Fredi. Naz was dumped as a 10 week old kitten and came to us soon after. He pretends to be really big and fierce and he rules the females here, and some of the males, with a fist of claws but I have seen him go all soft and purry on Patandcarols’ knee. He is 14 years old and he once won a show.
	This is Bomber who arrived as a 6 week old rescue kitten with his sister who found a new home near Gisburn. Bomber is also 14 and has suffered from chronic FLUTD (FUS) for years now. He has to be on a special diet for life. It is sad ‘cos he gets bouts of cystitis which make him unable to wee properly and it hurts him. He is very good with his diet, though, and does not try to steal our food or ask for treats. Isn’t he handsome—Rudolph Valentino eat your heart out!!
	This is Toby who was 14 in June. He was left outside our vets when he was 12 weeks old and had cat flu. Our vet made him better but no one would give him a home because he bit everyone. Trust Patandcarol to be the idiots who did!!! He is mean, moody and magnificent! He adores kittens though and enjoys playing Uncle Toby to all our latest friends. sadly Toby was diagnosed with an enzyme deficiency recently and has gone very thin, however, with medication he does seem to be pulling round and we hope to have him with us for a while yet!
	This is Solomon. Solomon is Naz’s bestest friend, they are a bit like positive and negative! Solomon and Misty, came from Manchester and was 12 years old in April. Solomon is famous as the cat on the label of the “Bambers Dinner” cat food!
	This is Solomon's sister, Misty. Misty is a funny little thing, she used to be quite fat but she has been to Weight Watchers and is now quite slim—she could teach some of the others a thing or two!! Misty used to be my girlfriend but now I have grown up I prefer hanging around with the boys.
	This is Aslan. He is a real softy. He came from “Moggies” cat rescue when he was 9 weeks old and he was 11 in April. He has been to shows and done OK but he is a bit shy. He is really too soft for this world!! However, he did win an Overall Whiskas in December 2001 which means he qualified for the Supreme. He went there in November 2002 and did very well, coming 2nd only to the cat who went on to become Supreme Non-Pedigree!!
	Here is Heidi who also came from the same rescue I did, only a year later. Heidi is another 11 year old and won 3 Best in Shows in only 4 shows until she got injured at a show and it frightened her so much she didn't go for a long time. She went to the WRPCC show in July 2003 and was OK so she tried again but then went ballistic at the tortie next to her at a show in 2004 so she has fully retired now. She is also a very naughty tortie and could teach Dancer a thing or two!

	This is Star who also came from the same rescue with Heidi. Star is like a little porcelain toy cat in miniature. She is the last of our 11 year olds but is rather small as she never grew very much. She has a will of iron though and woe betide anyone who crosses her. She is so cheeky and confident that she will steal food right out of Patandcarol’s mouths!! She was also quite a show “star” when she was not too busy hissing at the other cats in the show! She is the "meet and greeter" of the household as she loves new knees to sit on and will make a beeline for any visitors, Patandcarol say that if anyone ever came to the house and Star did not like them they would be very wary as Star just loves everyone!
	This is Buster. He was 10 in May as he was a "Millennium Cat" and he arrived in July 2000 from Oldham Cats rescue (where I came from!). He has a badly deformed front leg which is shorter than his other one but it does not seem to bother him much, he gets about and climbs OK!!! He has tried a few shows but doesn’t like it like I do so he stays at home and drives the others mad! He is a bit mixed up and can be moody, we think maybe he has a bit of brain damage as well as a deformed leg. He really just wants to be loved and will be a lifelong friend to any of us who will wash him and let him cuddle up to us.
	This is Ambar. She was in a pen at the West Riding show in June 2001 and needed a home. She was only 9 months old but had already had a litter of kittens before being sent to the rescue as her owner emigrated. She has now settled in well and is one of the family. She has been to some shows and won the Overall Non-Pedigree Stakes heat at the Manchester show in May 2003, as well as being nominated for best in Show. Ambar is also 10. We don't know what happened to her in her first home but for the first few years here she would only ruin through the living room and would not stay there so we think she was shouted at or even hit for going in the living room before. Happily she has now got over this and will even come and play in the living room now.
	And here is my understudy, Little Rascal. He came from, surprise, surprise, Oldham Cats just like a few of us and he was born on the same day, 16th June, (but not the same year - he was 8 in June) as me! He also has the same initials as me - weird!!! He lives up to his name but we all love him and he had a red card day and got Best Kitten at his first show in October 2002. He also won the Stakes and Best Adult at the WRPCC show in July 2003 then topped it by beating me to become a Runner Up in the first Grand Final - cheek! Isn't he like Felix??!! Rascal also tried TICA shows in April and although he did not win any Best Cats he did get made up to Grand Master. He had a go at an FB show in September 2007 and beat Dancer to be Best in Show! He then got Overall Best in Show at the FB Winners show in November 2007 and got best Opposite Sex at one in December so he is obviously our "FB Cat" . He loves playing and will jump many feet up into the air after a feathery wand toy thingy.
	And here is Douglas. Patandcarol really were not going to have any more of us after Cleo died but this little fellow had really been through a seriously bad ordeal and they could not resist him! He was only born in April 2003 and he came from the Lancashire Cat Rescue which is run by a friend of theirs. He had been terrorized by thugs and had had his tail chopped off! For full press details see here. Douglas has, like Topsy, just growed and growed and at 11 months old weighed in at 14lbs! He is now over 16lbs - a whole stone!! Douglas meets life head on and just knocks over or walks through anything in his way - including us! He was a Finalist in the 2004 Cats Protection Rescue Cat of the Year Awards and may soon be in a book. He was 6 in April.
	Just when we thought it was all over.....well it is now! This little waif and stray was, quite literally, brought to our door in July 2003. How could we resist? Her name is Pixie and she is a tiny little thing, but very, lively, mischievous and FULL of fun. She was 7 years old in June. She is a hunter and even though we don't go out of our run, if anything gets in (like the odd stupid mouse) she will kill it at once!
	Never say never! Patandcarol really were NOT going to have any more then the vetman rang needing a good, safe home like ours for another abuse case. Vincent (called Nemo by the vets) had been very badly abused by his original owner - electrocuted, broken jaw, ribs, legs etc. He had been sorted out then homed to an older lady as an only cat. He was BORED! He used to jump on her in the middle of the night and scratch her legs for attention so she brought him back. He is now great friends with Douglas, being almost the same age, and can match him wrestle for wrestle, even if not pound for pound! No boredom here! He was 7 in July.
	And just when you thought they REALLY REALLY were NOT having any more off they went to the Open Day at Lancashire Cat rescue run by a friend of theirs and soon afterwards these two arrived. This is Darius, he was a bit shy at first but now loves to play and is now definitely a lot bolder. Darius is now 5. We think he and his sister were born on 28th April. Tanya's birthday was also 28th April. WIERD! He hates shows so doesn't go and when he did at first he was always beaten by his sister.
	And this is his sister, Dream, isn't she pretty? She doing really, really well at shows at the moment and is a real little girl. Dream has a short tail, we think maybe her mum got over-zealous when she was born and bit the end off. But isn't it spooky how they were born on Tanya's birthday?? Almost like they were meant to come here! Dream won her very first best in Show at the Cameo show on 7th January 2006, and finished the year the same way by winning at the North of Britain Longhair in December 2006. This year she has, so far, been Best in Show 4 times!! Haven't I taught her well! Dream was our first cat to become an Imperial Grand Master under the new GCCF title scheme, she has even beaten me to it!!!!! . Patandcarol call her "Nightmare" sometimes as she is a bit of a bully if you don't watch out!
	We all really thought they had finally given up taking in waifs and strays but no, little Peppurr arrived on New Year's Day 2006. She was living with an old lady who had taken her in to avoid her being given to a rescue who lose a lot of kittens through illness and whilst the lady couldn't keep her indoors forever she also didn't want her to get run over as she lived near two busy roads. One prospective home never materialised and time was running out so guess where she ended up! Patandcarol didn't want her to be taken to a rescue as she was only 7 months old but already in her 4th home - this is her 5th (and final!)! She is a bit of a wild one at times and we steer clear of her when she is in a mood. The only one who will take her on is Dream and Peppurr and Dream hated each other for a long time but get on OK now. Peppurr was 5 in June.
	And here is a very, very special little boy. After Bonnie died so tragically Patandcarol were not going to have any more cats but they did say that they knew that one day Bonnie would send them a little tabby & white boy. They just did not expect her to do it so soon so when, just before Christmas 2006, they met him at Lancashire Cat Rescue's Christmas Mince Pie morning they very nearly did not take him as they felt it was far too soon and they were nowhere near ready to take on another kitten, especially when he would not purr for them! However, Bonnie somehow persuaded them and since he arrived here he has hardly stopped purring!!! He is called Max, we all call him Minimax as he was so small when he came here, more the size of a 10 week old kitten, not a 16 week old one (he was born on a landfill site so had a very bad start in life), and his posh "show" name is Maximilian Bonnieslegacy. He did very well at first and made Bonnie proud of him as he finished his kitten show career unbeaten in his Open Classes, and with 3 BIS Kittens out of 3 and he even won 9 out of 9 rings at the April TICA show he went to. he won BIS at his first adult show in June 2007 then decided he wanted a rest so he is not showing much at present. He is a very affectionate cat and adores Carol in particular but always goes to anyone who is sad. Max is still very young and will be 4 in August 2010.
	Never say never, at least not where Patandcarol are concerned! Just when we really, really thought that was it, what do they do? Go out and buy a PEDIGREE!!!!! And not just one but two, and not just any old pedigree but a funny looking scruffy one as well, OK, then, two! This is Jack, he is a Selkirk Rex and his posh name is Crinkles Jack Frost. He was born in May 2007. He has done extremely well at GCCF shows, winning 3 ICs in a row, thus becoming the 9th qualifying cat, and he also become a little part of cat show history as in addition to being one of the 20 cats to get 3 ICs each to try to help Selkirks become a championship breed for showing he was also the very first one to win an Overall Best in Show which he did at the Lancs show in March 2008. We are all so proud of him as he has also done very well in side classes against older cats. This picture was taken by photographer Robert Fox. Jack became the very first ever Selkrik Rex Premaier and Grand Premier in 2009.
	And this is Jack's half brother, Josh (Crinkles Reed). He is even funnier looking than Jack but is a little cutie really, He was born in June 2007. Dancer looked after him and his brother when they spent their first weekend away in a hotel room at a two day cat show in December. Josh has been to a few GCCF shows and has won 2 ICs and 1 PC but as he is undershot he cannot do well as a pedigree in GCCF so he now shows as a Pet pedigree in their new system and has become a master Cat. In TICA, however, they don;t mind so much and he gained the top TICA Supreme Grand Champion Alter title in march 2010. He is almost as manic as Rascal when he plays and can jump almost as high! This picture was taken by photographer Alan Robinson.
	Well, guess what, yes, you've got it, they only went and did it again!!! They went away one weekend and brought home two more of those funny curly pedigree things that they fell in love with. Mitch (Curlu Mitch) and his half brother too! Actually all 4 have the same dad but different mums so they are all half brothers. This is Murphy (Curlu Nate) and he is TROUBLE! He is lively, into everything and feisty so hissed at us at first but he is now used to us and plays with Max and Jack & Josh especially. He is very, very clever though and figured out how to use the cat flap to the run all by himself before he was even 17 weeks old!!! He ahs done well at shows and is now a GCCF Champion and Premier. Sadly his brother, Mitch became very ill with a bad disease called FIP and died in November 2008 just before he was 7 months old. It was so sad to see him poorly and Patandcarol had to get the vetman out to him before he got so ill he suffered. We do miss him, especially Murphy does, but we are all trying to be extra nice to Murphy to help him get over it, he feels it as Mitch was there when he was born and this is the first time in his life he has not had Mitch with him. Mitch is now on my Rainbow Bridge page.
	And finally, finally, finally they fell in love with a little girl Selkirk Rex in 2009 and she came to live here too. Her name is Crinkles Forget Me Not but we call her Tiffany here. She is Jack's full younger sister and was 1 year old in April. She has done very well on the bench too and became the youngest Selkirk Rex Grand Champion in June 2010. She was then neutered and is now resting until she recovers. She is very, very pretty and a little purrbox but is as manic as her brothers - what IS it with these funny curly cats!