A few of the cats who's lives we have been lucky to share:-

Buster: (photo left) was a female Manx tabby who just loved being a cat. Often seen getting into the strangest of places, she was also know to team up with our dog Teddy to open the fridge door and share the contents. However she didn't have "cats' eyes" - if she found herself at the top of the stairs after dark she would howl to be carried down!

Gem: (photo left) was a male tabby, originally feral, who lost an eye to cat flu early in his life but it didn't seem to bother him too much. He just loved crisps and used to follow children with bags of crisps around the close where we lived. Not long after he arrived he disappeared again, we feared back to the wild, but he returned after 24 hours and headed straight for the litter tray.

Corrie: (photo left) Originally very feral, she lived with us for about six months before venturing out from behind the fridge in daylight, although we often heard her playing in the kitchen during dark evenings. Interestingly, she once briefly went back to the wild but returned after a fortnight looking completely starved and never ventured further than the doorstep ever again. Once settled in our home she completely relaxed, probably for the first time in her life, so much that she would fall so fast asleep on the back of the sofa that she would sometimes fall off, usually landing on a rather surprised dog. Although found existing in the wild on a farm in the Isle of Man she had some of the features of the breed known as "Scottish wild cat" (broad face, double coat and (small) tufts on her ears) and we sometimes wondered if these features might be widespread amongst wild cats.

Tater: (photo left with Corrie and Buster) a very dark tabby coloured Manx male and a real character. He just loved cheese and would sit in front of the fridge and howl a desperate, characteristic "cheese call" until someone opened the door and fed him cheese. He also loved travelling and would often climb into the car and go shopping in Douglas.

Ducky: was a tabby "stumpy" Manx, her rear end resembled and waggled like that of a duck, hence the name. She was a real thief and often ravaged the neighbours' bin bags. One Sunday lunchtime we noticed her dragging some gammon up the path, which she kept dropping and picking up again. We first thought that at last she had stolen something too heavy for her but then we realised it wasn't too heavy but too hot! We never found out who's lunch it should have been.

Isit: (photo on left) arrived as a kitten and was briefly known as "Pearl" but we were always saying "where is it?" or "what is it up to now" and she soon began to answer to "Isit?" She remained inquisitive and was quite a character, often found sleeping in most unusual places. She loved to join in when we exercised our terrapins in the bath but if they came too close she would gently hold them down on the bottom of the bath with a paw while they thought they were still swimming, a bit like "Endless Pool" exercise for the terrapins!

Minnie: (photo on left) was a beautiful long haired tabby female. Despite her frowning in this photograph, she was really just an easy going generally "laid back cat", although she loved to play with Christmas decorations.

Joseph: (photo left) a very large ginger and white male who arrived at our door on Christmas Eve. Although he was the "boss cat" he was always the first to befriend new arrivals.

Posie: (photo left with Joseph) a small but perfectly formed black Manx female. Very small and very timid when she arrived, she was soon taken under Joseph's wing and gained some confidence from him. She has remained rather timid but likes company to be never too far away.

Husky also known as Triplod: a large black male with a deformed back leg, hence the "tri-" and he rather "plods" along. He took over as "boss" after Joseph. Spends a lot of his time making affectionate approaches to our dog Breeshey, a large long-haired black German Shepherd, but unfortunately he once attacked her early in their relationship and she remains rather wary of him.

Dumpy: a sleek black male with a very long tail. He was dull and miserable when he was born here, rather "down-in-the-dumps" (hence his name) but he's blossomed into a handsome cat who can now often be seen playing "chase me" with Posie.

Simba: (photo left) very much the "Lion King" with a hefty right hook but otherwise fairly relaxed.

Mischief: (photo left) naturally named to suit her character. Also affectionately known as "Lugless" since she lost her ears to cancer at age 5 or 6, she's now about 12 and becoming a graceful "old lady". She always reminds us to use sunscreen on the ears of cats with light-coloured ears during the summer. Also has a habit of standing on hind legs when there's ham around and then looks remarkably like a Meerkat.