Well folks, I've finally splashed out and replaced my circa 1975 television set with a new one. Stirling is rather bothered by it and doesn't want to get too near. From time to time he gets brave and trys a sort of sideways approach, but every time he gets near something moves on the screen and he...

My number one boy Arthur passed away last night after 17 wonderful years with us. We will miss him terribly. Can't write any more now, but there are a couple of photos of him here http://members.westnet.com.au/hcbart/inmates/arthur.html

Tyler is 11 years old now. He's a glamorous looking cat with long hair, and one of the biggest cats I have ever seen. His lifelong pal Orly is 14, a short haired ginger fellow and not much smaller. Every evening they sleep at opposite ends of the sofa. Once every evening, Orly will get up,...

It's summer all right because a) it's stinking hot and b) Orly and Violetta have got one of those bl**dy big spiders bailed up between them. They're following it around under the dining table. It's a fast one.

So the stockfeed place where I buy my cat food has a new staff member, a mostly ginger girl with white paws and whiskers who looks to be about 5-6 months old. She's going to be their new rodent control specialist now that her predecessor has gone off to enjoy his retirement at the manager's...

Ah, the newsgroup is still here! It's been a good while but I still recognise a few names from years ago. Hope you're all well. So a new kitten has adopted me, and what a start to his life here. He showed up in my yard about 6 weeks ago now, There he was, waiting by the back door when I got home...

Floki the kitten's going through a grabby stage now. Whatever I've got in my hand, he wants it and grabs it with his little paw if he can. I want the plate, he says. I want the cup. I want the mop, the pen, that pair of scissors. I want your headphones, your socks, your pen. And especially, if...

Trixie, my older cat, is slowly getting used to sharing her house with a younger cat. She was six years old when I adopted her from the local shelter, and she's been with me for two years now. I've no idea how she ended up in the shelter. In summer she's a medium-haired stripey tabby, greyish...

Floki's latest trick is climbing up the kitchen cabinets using the drawer handles as a ladder. He doesn't get up on the countertops thankfully, but he's worked out that he can see what I'm doing if he stands on the lowest handle and grabs onto the top one with his front paws. I think I'm going...

Mark Edwards wrote: I have an interview tomorrow, at a company that looks like a very nice place to work. So far, they seem very interested. Can I get some purrs that I get a job offer (with accompanying good salary) tomorrow? Thanks.

Well folks and kitties, the job purrs you sent for my interview last week seem to have done the trick. They rang me today to offer me the job. I'm surprised and a little scared (let's face it, terrified is more like it), having had the same job for almost 14 years now, but I think I'll be...

Tomorrow morning I'm going to be interviewed by two kitties who are looking for a new family to join. Their person was until recently a postgrad student where I work - she's leaving Australia soon and has been very worried about finding a place for her cats to live. It would be difficult for her to...

The other night while I was lying on my back in front of the TV, Katie and Orlie both settled themselves on my chest/tummy together. In between wheezing and gasping for breath (neither of them is a lightweight) I couldn't help saying "wow, this is quite a milestone - one of the newcomers and one of...

I was walking from the railway station to my Dr's surgery in the fancy end of town this morning when I saw a beautiful brindle-coloured cat loitering around this rather smart looking car parked at the kerb. I was running late but couldn't resist saying "hello puss" and stopping to give him a little...

What sort of mesh materials are your cat enclosures made of? I've been enclosing my existing back verandah to make a space for the cats to play in and am about to order some mesh for the walls. The mesh I've been recommended by a local supplier is made of a UV stabilised plastic material with mesh...

Saw this rather nice cat bed in today's junk mail. It has to be the poshest one I've ever seen. http://members.westnet.com.au/hcbart/catbed.jpg A little pricey, but they're Australian dollars after all. The feline model in the photo is suitably handsome and haughty looking too.

I met his royal orangeness! Britta took me with her to visit him in the quarantine station just south of Purrth, where he's staying for another 2 weeks yet. He is of course very handsome, and his coat is a very unusual pretty colour. For those who haven't seen his photos, he's a very pale...

I've been building an outdoor enclosure for my gang, and it's almost finished. There are still a few possible escape routes which I'm fixing up one at a time, but none is obvious or (I thought) easily accessible, so yesterday I let all the kitties out under my supervision. I went in to the kitchen...

Sad news here. My little old tabby lady Katie has just passed away. She had been getting very frail and has been on medication for CRF, although the symptoms had not seemed too much of a burden for her yet. She's been sleeping most of the time lately. She went peacefully, curled up next to me...

So I've been away for a few weeks, visiting family in the UK as my Dad's been very ill. I left here pretty suddenly, got a phone call at 6:30am, was lucky to be able to get the cats into a good boarding place, and was on the plane by 6:30pm. Thankfully Dad's out of hospital now although things...